Mint Cookie Murder Read online

  I shrugged and made my way to the bedroom. After placing the cat on the bed and changing clothes, I fell asleep instantly. Misery is a strong sedative.

  * * *

  The next morning Philby and I joined a fully dressed Riley in the kitchen. He was making breakfast again. I was beyond depressed, so I ate twice as much as usual. I didn't want this mystery anymore. I didn't want the CIA here. I just wanted Philby, Kelly, and my self-loathing.

  "Why are you dressed so early?" I asked Riley.

  "I'm going with you to your Girl Scout meeting," he said. "Kelly called to remind you."

  Oh crap. I'd forgotten. We had a meeting today. I was going to teach the girls how to make weapons using everyday objects. Kelly didn't really like this idea, so I toned it down somewhat. I'd been saving the supplies for months.

  I didn't really feel like going. But maybe something like this would cheer me up. We were meeting at Kelly's house in her basement, and Riley was going along, presumably for security. Okay. Might as well get it over with.

  Riley was in the backyard, checking on the fake cat grave, when the doorbell rang. I looked through the peephole in the door and opened it.

  A man in a trench coat, fedora, blond mustache, and dark sunglasses stood there. "Pssst…" he whispered, before looking from side to side. "I hear you're selling cookies."

  "Hey, Abdul. How's it going?" The guy standing in front of me shared an office with me early in my career in Pakistan.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about. My name is…Andy. Andy Bellafonte."

  I crossed my arms over my chest. "You are Abdul Jones. You like the color red and have a dog named Bubba."

  The man shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even work for the CIA."

  "That's funny because I didn't mention the CIA," I said. I wasn't going to make it easy. Abdul never chipped in to the office tea account but drank 10 cups a day.

  "I have no idea what you're talking about, Finn," he said. Yeah, he was a great agent. Which was why he was sent back to Langley to work in the marketing department after only six months in the field.

  "I never said my name, Abdul," I answered.

  The man blinked at me. His fake blond mustache started sliding off. I couldn't tell if he was going to run, cry, or attack. I decided to wait and see what happened.

  "Put me down for a case of Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies." Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies—the often ignored bastard of Girl Scout Cookies. Of course he wanted those.

  "I'll need the money up front or no deal." I told him how much it would be and held out my hand expectantly.

  The mustache fell completely off.

  "Um, will you take a check?" Abdul asked as he clumsily pasted the 'stache back on his upper lip.

  "Sure," I said, suppressing a snicker. See what I mean? Only a flunky pays with a check with his name and address on it while undercover. Abdul tore out the check and handed it to me.

  "Maria will be getting the shipment," I said. Abdul was not getting his cookies until his check cleared.

  "I was never here," he said, before looking both ways and running away down the sidewalk.

  I sighed and closed the door. At least it was another sale.

  "Was that Abdul?" Riley asked, appearing very close behind me. I shuddered a little then hoped he hadn't noticed that. He was starting to have a seriously physical effect on me. That wasn't good.

  "Yeah." I turned around to face him. How did he get his eyes so blue? "He ordered some cookies. You ready to go?"

  "Let's drop Philby off at the safe house first," Riley said.

  I agreed. We still had to keep the cat safe. We hid the cat in a duffel bag as we took him to the car. Suzanne at the yarn shop promised he'd be okay. I made a mental note to interrogate her when we got back. It felt like I was leaving my cat with a complete stranger. Sure, Riley knew her, but I didn't.

  * * *

  The girls were all there when Riley and I arrived. I made him carry the box of supplies. Riley recoiled when he saw the kids. He didn't really have much experience with anyone younger than 19.

  The girls thought he was adorable and immediately crowded him like gypsy children at American Tourist Appreciation Day at the Eiffel Tower. Riley shrank back and looked at me in horror, wondering what to do.

  "He's got candy in his jacket pockets, girls!" I shouted.

  I'd never heard Riley scream like that before.

  He really did have candy in his pockets. I'd filled them before handing him his coat as we left the house.

  Kelly and I put the cookies on plates on the table then called the girls over for snack time. Riley stood there with sticky handprints all over his clothes, in total shock. I hadn't seen him like that since the night at the Belgian consulate when three of his seducees approached him at the same time. That was hilarious. He walked around with three handprints on his face for two days.

  Eventually he joined us as we started the craft. His job was to cut the sides of the rulers so they looked sort of sharp. We couldn't go full out with making a real weapon yet, because they were only second graders. But someday…

  I worked on the armband and spring mechanism while Kelly wielded the hot glue gun. She mumbled several times that we should be doing something more fitting, like valentines or tissue paper flowers, but she kept it up.

  When we were done, each girl had a secret shiv strapped to her arm. I felt like we'd really accomplished something. Then we got down to cookie orders.

  The girls were doing great so far. Many of them had surpassed their individual goal, which was nice considering how expensive the cookies were. We reviewed safety measures when selling, techniques they could use, even emotional blackmail that would work when Grandma said no.

  "Mrs. Wrath?" One of the four Kaitlins asked. "Is this your husband?" She pointed to Riley.

  "No," I said wearily. "Like I've told you girls before—I'm not married. It's Ms. Wrath."

  Ava spoke up. "Why not? He's totes adorbs. Don't you like him?"

  Riley leaned back in his chair with a smug smile. The bastard. I wondered what totes adorbs meant, but thought that asking might make me less cool.

  "Well, yes…I…um…like him…but he's a friend…"

  "Mrs. Wrath and Riley, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the four Kaitlins sang immediately. Kelly started laughing. Riley was still smiling. And I was pretty sure I'd blushed bright red.

  "All right! That's enough!" I shouted.

  "Mr. Riley?" Ava asked. "Are you going to marry Mrs. Wrath?"

  It was Riley's turn to blush, and he did so with purple splotches all over his neck. Funny, I'd seen my former boss in lots of situations over the years that would've given a lesser man a heart attack. But this one almost killed him.

  Kelly said nothing. She was enjoying it too much.

  "Enough!" I shouted. "It's time to clean up our mess!" The girls giggled en masse like junior Stepford Wives and ran over to the table to clean up.

  "Nice save," Kelly murmured in my ear.

  "You were no help whatsoever," I grumbled.

  She shrugged. So I told her how many cookies I'd sold. Kelly gave a strangled cry and stared at me.

  "I haven't even sold one fifth that amount! And I've gone around the hospital twice!" she complained.

  This time I shrugged. "I guess I'm just better at it."

  "Mrs. Wrath?" asked Inez, probably the cutest girl in the troop—even though I hardly notice that type of thing… "Can we come over and see your cat?"

  I gave a sharp look at Kelly. She grinned weakly. "I had to tell them something while I was waiting for you."

  I looked down at Inez's adorable face. "Maybe next week, okay? He just came home from the cat hospital and needs his rest."

  "Yay" Inez cheered. "Hey, guys! We're going to Mrs. Wrath's house next week to see her kitty!"

  Oh, well. Fine. I'd hopefully have everything wrapped up by then. Right? We finished with a game while the parents picked them up
one by one. When the last girl had gone, the three of us slumped into chairs.

  "How do you do this every week?" Riley asked. "It's like they suck the life right out of you!"

  Kelly scowled. "They aren't so bad! I get a kick out of the girls."

  I nodded. "They wear me out too. But I love them." Wait. Did I just say I loved my girls? I guess I did. I really did. Wow. A little over a year ago, I would've laughed at anyone (and possibly fired a gun in their direction) if you'd told me I'd have a pet cat and love the little girls in my troop. But I did. Things sure had changed.

  "Don't forget. We have the cookie booth coming up." Kelly grabbed my arm as we were leaving.

  "Why do you always think I'm going to forget?" I complained.

  "Because you always forget!" Kelly snapped. Whoa.

  I waved Riley away and leaned in. "What is wrong with you? You're always jumping down my throat lately."

  Kelly looked at me for a long moment. "It's nothing. Really. I'm just stressed over the cookie sale and worried about you with this killer running around."

  "I think you're keeping something from me. Do you have cancer? Are you and Robert having problems? Are you losing your job?"

  "No!" Kelly hissed. "Nothing's wrong! I told you. Now get out of my house!"

  We left Kelly and headed toward the yarn shop. Something was wrong with my best friend, and she couldn't even talk to me about it. Was it something I missed? Was that why she's mad—because I didn't notice? Not only was I losing my boyfriend, I might be losing Kelly.

  My life was falling apart, but I had no idea why. It didn't make sense. And my night was just going to get worse. I had Suzanne to grill and then a date with my boyfriend and his new possible girlfriend.

  "Hey, Riley," I said slowly as an idea swirled around in my mind. "Think Suzanne would babysit Philby tonight?"

  "I don't know, why?" he answered, focusing on the road to see if we were being followed.

  "Want to go out to dinner with me?" I turned on all possible charm. There wasn't much.

  Riley took his eyes off the road and looked at me. "Okay."

  "It's me and you and Rex and his friend Angela." I thought it only fair to warn him.

  "Sounds good," he said with a grin.

  Just for a moment, I thought I detected something strange in his voice. Oh well, it's probably nothing. It's not like he could misconstrue what I'd said. Right?

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Philby was curled up on a basket full of yarn in the corner of the shop, sound asleep. Suzanne locked the door behind us and turned the sign to Closed. I hadn't realized it was so late.

  "So…Suzanne…" I said as I scooped the heavy cat into my arms. He stretched and opened his eyes. As soon as he saw me, he fell back asleep. I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad sign.

  "I don't know that much about you." I set the cat back down on the bed of yarn. "How long were you actually with the CIA?"

  Riley shot me a look. I ignored it.

  "Not for very long." Suzanne looked like a bored flapper. She had a knitted cloche cap on over her severe, black bob, and she was wearing a long, vintage dress and mid-heeled leather shoes tied with bows.

  "Why did you leave?" I asked. Riley was glaring at me.

  Suzanne waved her hand distractedly. "It wasn't what I wanted in the end."

  "So you decided to chuck it all for a craft store in the middle of Iowa?" I tried not to let that sound sarcastic, but I don't think it worked. I know I'd asked her this before, but sometimes you have to ask the same question again just to see if you get a different result.

  The girl trained her dark eyes on me. "I like the fiber arts. I grew up here."

  I thought about that. She'd mentioned before that she'd lived here. I didn't recognize the name Aubrey. But then it was a large town, and I hadn't lived here in a while. Suzanne was definitely younger than I. It was all possible.

  "Why did you come back?" She was challenging me. That meant she was smart, which was good since she was watching my cat.

  There was no way I was giving her anything, and we were running out of time, so I nodded. "Okay. You passed. You can watch my cat." For now.

  Riley filled Suzanne in on the evening's plans, and she agreed to wait with Philby in the back room until we picked him up.

  "What was that all about?" Riley growled once we were in the car.

  "What?" I asked.

  "You know what I'm talking about, Wrath! Why were you grilling my operative?"

  I looked at him. "I thought she was just a contractor."

  "I vetted her. She's fine. End of discussion," Riley said.

  "Whatever." And that was all I said to him as we went home and got ready for dinner.

  I took a quick shower and changed into a silk blouse and black skirt. I paid some attention to my short, curly blonde hair, and wondered what kind of disaster the evening would bring.

  Rex was pissed at me for liberating my cat in the middle of the night. Riley was pissed because I'd questioned Suzanne. Angela probably hated me because I was dating Rex. Yeah, this was going to be fun.

  Riley and I arrived a few minutes early, out of habit, to scope the place. After we checked the bathrooms and found the back exit, we returned to the host's stand to wait for Rex and Angela.

  I was having trouble standing next to Riley. He was decked out in a black suit, French blue shirt, and dark gray silk tie. His wavy, blond hair glowed under the dim lighting and he smelled like the ocean. My heart was pounding, and I wondered if he'd spiked his cologne with pheromones. You know, that would be just like him to cheat with science. I couldn't remember ever being more attracted to him. This was seriously getting out of hand. If he was doping me with pheromones, I was going to kill him.

  "You are beautiful." Riley grinned. "Absolutely stunning."

  Oh, wow. He was really pouring it on tonight. And I was surprised to find that I liked it. Oh, yeah. Definitely pheromones.

  "Thanks. You look amazing," I replied, trying to sound cool.

  So what did I actually think was going to happen here when I'd invited my former boss? It was all a blur. I think I'd wanted to make Rex jealous. But now I wasn't so sure. I really cared for Rex and was very attracted to him. But he seemed so distant lately. And with Angela in town I was feeling threatened. Spies—even former ones—should never feel threatened.

  But now I was spending a lot of time with Riley. And he seemed interested. And he was certainly a hottie who just happened to live with me. Well, for now he did. Riley knew all about my past, and we'd been through a lot together. Only Kelly knew me better. Maybe I should've brought her instead. Although the way she's been acting lately, that wasn't a safe bet either.

  "Hey! I didn't know you were coming." Rex arrived and held out his hand to Riley, who shook it. The two men liked each other. But did they suspect that they were two sides in a Merry Wrath romance triangle?

  "You must be Merry." Angela stepped around Rex and smiled. Wow. If I thought she was pretty from a distance, she was a serious beauty close up.

  "Hi. You must be Angela." I held out my hand and tried my best at an I don't care at all if you steal my boyfriend smile.

  Angela took my hand firmly and shook. I matched her firmness and held on, my eyes locked on hers. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to let go. I just kept shaking her hand.

  "You can let go now, Merry," Rex laughed.

  I dropped her hand like it was nuclear waste and stepped back. Riley was using his full charm on Angela. He shook her hand and smiled with his panty-melting grin.

  Rex checked in with the hostess while the three of us sized each other up. Angela was stunning. Flawless skin, glittering green eyes, honey-gold hair that shimmered—she was the complete package or a cyborg. The host checked our coats, and I studied my new nemesis.

  The woman had a body that could stop traffic in mid-day Cairo. Tiny waist, impressive chest, shapely legs, and the ultimate female Holy Grail—a little black dress that played it all up like a
drag queen on a Miami stage. I was doomed.

  Five minutes later we were seated at a table near the fireplace. Rex sat on my left, Riley on my right, and Angela across from me. I should've brought a gun. I pictured her falling dead, face first into her salad. The imagery made me start to laugh.

  "What's so funny?" Rex asked.

  Angela and Riley stared at me. I'm such an idiot.

  "Oh, it was just something funny Philby—my cat—did today. Just popped into my head." I lied. Why did I say that? Now I had to come up with something Philby could've done.

  "Merry adopted a stray," Rex said to Angela.

  "I love cats," Angela purred, making me wonder if she was one. An evil Cyborg cat. "What did Philby do?" she asked.

  Riley leaned back and gave me a smile that said, Now what are you going to come up with?

  I racked my brain. I needed to invent something charming. Something clever and so witty that Angela would get up and say she was going back home immediately because she couldn't compete.

  "He threw up a hairball that looked like Richard Nixon!" I blurted out. Now why in hell did I say that? Maybe I was the one who should get up and throw in the towel.

  Rex laughed loudly and, thank God, genuinely. Riley chuckled softly. I looked at Angela and felt a blush climbing my neck toward my cheeks. This was definitely the most humiliating thing I'd ever done. Well, this week at least.

  The woman smiled. Then she started giggling. Okay, this wasn't so bad.

  "Rex told me you were funny!" Angela said. "Nixon! Really?"

  "I'm just hoping he'll cough up a JFK," I added. "Then I'll have a complete set to sell on eBay."

  Thankfully, the others laughed, and I relaxed a little. One hurdle jumped…hundreds more to go before this dinner was over.

  Our server appeared, and Rex demurred to Riley on the wine list. Riley ordered a French red, in French no less. Was he trying to impress me or Angela? Now I looked at her in a new jealous light. Was she going to steal Riley from me too?

  Oh, for the love of Pete! Now I wanted both men? What was wrong with me? When did I become so greedy?