Murder Ink Read online

  PRAISE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING VICTORIA SQUARE MYSTERIES

  “A fabulous mystery not only for Christmas, but throughout the year, including in the heat of summer when the thought of snow is so refreshing. . . . An outstanding, riveting read.”

  —Open Book Society

  “Fans of the series will be invested in seeing just what Katie’s next step will be in her life, while mystery readers will enjoy unpredictable plot twists and her suspenseful efforts to ingeniously MacGyver her way out of jeopardy.”

  —Kings River Life Magazine

  “Fun plot, fanciful characters, really fabulous crafts. A palette of colorful characters and enticing crafts. Bartlett put her art and soul into this mystery!”

  —Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of the Cackleberry Club Mysteries, the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and the Tea Shop Mysteries

  “Ms. Bartlett has established a plucky, intelligent heroine in Kate Bonner and has surrounded her with a cast of fascinating multidimensional characters.”

  —Ellery Adams, New York Times bestselling author of the Books by the Bay Mysteries and the Book Retreat Mysteries

  “A co-op of artisans, one disgruntled artist, and a desperate artifice—the perfect canvas for murder. Lorraine Bartlett’s characters come alive in this tightly crafted, suspenseful plot that grips the reader’s attention right up to the satisfying conclusion.”

  —Kate Collins, New York Times bestselling author of the Flower Shop Mysteries

  “A quaint town square, crafters, quirky characters, and dead bodies. A Crafty Killing is sure to be a winner.”

  —Maggie Sefton, New York Times bestselling author of the Knitting Mysteries

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Lorraine Bartlett

  A CRAFTY KILLING

  THE WALLED FLOWER

  ONE HOT MURDER

  DEAD, BATH, AND BEYOND

  YULE BE DEAD

  MURDER INK

  BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

  Published by Berkley

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  penguinrandomhouse.com

  Copyright © 2019 by Lorraine Bartlett

  Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

  BERKLEY and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks and BERKLEY PRIME CRIME is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Ebook ISBN: 9781101614822

  First Edition: December 2019

  Cover art by Chris Beatrice Studio

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

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

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  Acknowledgments

  The authors would like to thank Stephen Sikora, MD, for his advice on how an electric shock patient would be evaluated in the emergency room. Any mistakes in accuracy or procedure are entirely our own.

  Contents

  Praise For the Victoria Square Mysteries

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Lorraine Bartlett

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Epilogue

  Recipe

  About the Author

  Cast of Characters

  Katie Bonner: owner-manager of Artisans Alley, the anchor on Victoria Square

  Andy Rust: owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria and Katie’s boyfriend

  Ray Davenport: former homicide detective and owner of Wood U on Victoria Square

  Margo Bonner: Katie’s former mother-in-law

  Rose Nash: jewelry vendor at Artisans Alley and Katie’s friend

  Vance Ingram: vendor at Artisans Alley and Katie’s second-in-command

  Nona Fiske: owner of the Quiet Quilter; aunt of Carl Fiske

  Seth Landers: attorney and Katie’s friend

  Don Parsons: co-owner of Sassy Sally’s B&B on Victoria Square

  Nick Ferrell: co-owner of Sassy Sally’s B&B on Victoria Square

  Detective Schuler: homicide detective with the Sheriff’s Office

  Brad Andrews: noted chef, hired to manage Tealicious tea shop

  Paul Fenton: tattoo artist and brother of murder victim, Ken Fenton

  Fiona Lancaster: guest at Sassy Sally’s B&B

  Phil Lancaster: husband of Fiona, guest at Sassy Sally’s B&B

  Regan Mitchell: receptionist at Paul Fenton’s tattoo parlor

  Mary Jones: sister of Paul and Ken Fenton

  Hugh McKinney: retired DEA agent posing as a leather vendor at Artisans Alley

  Miles Patterson: blind potter, new to Artisans Alley, former DEA agent

  One

  After a day filled with putting out fires—figuratively speaking, of course—Katie Bonner rushed into Del’s Diner and headed for the party room in back where she was sure the rest of the Victoria Square Merchants Association was waiting. It wasn’t like her to be late, but these days, she was running herself ragged between the business district’s anchor, Artisans Alley, and Tealicious, the Square’s relaunched tea shop.

  “Hi, Katie,” said Sandy, the heavyset blonde waitress who was even more of a fixture at Del’s than the man himself. “The others have already finished dinner. Did you want me to bring you something?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll catch something later. Is Andy here?”

  Sandy shook her head.

  Katie suppressed a sigh. She knew Andy Rust, her boyfriend and owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria, hated these meetings, but she’d really hoped he’d be able to make it to this one. They’d been planning on having a night in
at her place, and if he wasn’t at this meeting, it was likely he was going to have to cancel their date. Dates had been few and far between since she’d bought and reopened the tea shop. Even though Vance Ingram had come on board as assistant manager of Artisans Alley, the former applesauce warehouse turned configuration of artists and vendors, Katie still had many responsibilities there that Vance simply couldn’t handle. Plus, her vendors expected her at the helm, and they weren’t quite ready to accept Vance’s authority.

  She entered the party room and was immediately greeted by Gilda Ringwald-Stratton, who owned Gilda’s Gourmet Baskets. Gilda kind of reminded Katie of a vampire, with her pale skin and dyed-black pageboy hair. This evening, she exacerbated the comparison by wearing black slacks and a scarlet silk blouse. Gilda made up for her lack of height with her four-inch wedge heels.

  “Congratulations on Tealicious,” Gilda said. “What a rousing success!”

  “Thank you.”

  “Conrad and I love it now.”

  Now. Before Katie had bought the tea shop from Francine Barnett six months before, the place had suffered from an admittedly deserved decline in reputation. With it being early June and the tourist season in full swing, Katie was beginning to see a return on her investment.

  “I certainly appreciate your patronage,” she told Gilda.

  “Janine is such a sweet, sweet girl.” Gilda rolled her eyes to the left. “Although she seems a bit overwhelmed by it all sometimes, doesn’t she?”

  “She does,” Katie admitted. The tea shop’s young manager, Janine Brady, was a conversation for another time. “I need to get the meeting started.”

  “Of course. We’ll talk later.”

  Katie went to the front of the room. “Hi, everybody. I’m so glad you could make it, and my apologies for being late.”

  A chorus of hello and hi echoed back just as Andy stepped in the room. Katie greeted him with a smile. Yes! Tonight is on!

  “I’ll try to make this meeting brief,” she told the gathering. “Let’s start by talking about Victoria Square’s vacant buildings.”

  A muscle-bound man in gym shorts and a red tank top who’d been sitting in a chair at the back of the room stood. He raised his hand and turned slightly to his left and right, including as many people as possible in his wave and his gaze. He then locked his eyes on Katie. “May I speak?”

  “Uh, sure.” Who was this Hulk Hogan wannabe?

  “My name is Paul Fenton, and I’ll be taking care of the problem of one of those vacant buildings within the next few days.”

  “That’s great, Paul,” said Katie, amid the subdued greetings offered by the other members of the Merchants Association. “What type of business will you be operating?”

  “I’m a tattoo artist,” he said.

  Katie could see that there was quite a bit of indelible ink on the man’s arms and legs. In trying to see what symbols he had and where, she realized she was staring and dragged her eyes away. But, surely, he couldn’t have done all of those himself.

  “Do you have a partner?” she asked.

  “Yes. There are three of us. We’re buying the building from Mr. Jones—our closing is set for next week—and we’ll be setting up shop immediately after. I’m the main investor, so I came here tonight to join the Merchants Association.”

  “Hold on,” said Sue Sweeney, the owner of Sweet Sue’s Confectionery, standing and taking advantage of her height to ensure everyone at the meeting could see her. “I’m not sure a tattoo parlor is right for Victoria Square. We have a . . . well, a theme . . . if you will.”

  “A theme?” Paul demanded. “Whoever heard of a town square having a theme? What do you do?”

  “I make and sell gourmet chocolates and other exquisite confections,” Sue said, sounding annoyed at the challenge.

  “And how does that fit in any sort of theme?” he asked.

  “Well, we’re all . . . crafty.” Sue looked around for someone—anyone—to back her up.

  “You’d probably do better with a tattoo parlor in a location closer to the marina,” said Jordan Tanner, owner of the Square’s coffee shop and bakery, and whose dignified stance and tone made him appear more like a professor than a baker.

  “Why’s that?” Paul asked.

  “We’re just concerned that your business would attract a certain . . . clientele,” Gilda offered, her Brooklyn accent more pronounced than usual.

  “She means that our businesses attract a certain clientele,” Gilda’s husband, Conrad, corrected quickly. “And she’s afraid your business would suffer because of it.” He forced out a laugh. “Not many little old ladies are getting tattoos, are they?”

  Paul spread his hands. “They might after they see our work. My crew and I are renowned artists.”

  “You do have some nice things there . . . on you,” said Charlotte Booth, owner of Booth’s Jams and Jellies—ever the peacemaker.

  “Thanks.” Paul winked at her, causing Charlotte to blush.

  Great, thought Katie. Char will be first in line for a tattoo. I need to do something to get this meeting under control.

  “I think what some of our vendors are concerned about,” Katie said, “is that your business won’t get the exposure it needs here in Victoria Square.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Paul demanded, his hands to his hips. “Are you telling me that I can’t join the Merchants Association, or what?”

  Andy stood. “Yeah. Is the Merchants Association going to push Paul out of the way like it did to me during all the years when Ezra Hilton was running the show?”

  “This is entirely different.” Katie gave him a pleading look meant to tell him to not get involved.

  “How?” he asked, clearly ignoring her silent request. “Ezra didn’t want a pizza parlor on his precious Square, and now you guys don’t want a tattoo parlor. How are the two situations different?”

  Katie struggled to come up with a reasonable response. “You have to admit that because Angelo’s Pizzeria is located in a vintage building, it isn’t your typical pizza parlor.”

  “Look,” Paul interrupted. “Whether you guys want me here or not, I’m here. I don’t need your snobby little group to tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m buying the building. It’s a done deal.” With that, he stormed out of the room.

  Shaking his head in disgust, Andy left, too.

  Ray Davenport, the owner of Wood U, stood as the room erupted in arguments for and against—mostly against—the tattoo parlor. He cleared his throat, and everyone quieted down to look at him. As a retired police detective, Ray knew how to command attention.

  “Mr. Fenton said the closing on the building isn’t until next week,” he said. “That means there might not be any paperwork yet and that someone else could still buy the property.”

  “Are you going to pony up, Ray?” Conrad asked.

  “Not me.” He shook his balding head. “I’ve got one daughter in college and two more to go. I can barely afford to pay attention these days.”

  “What if the Merchants Association bought the building?” Katie held up a hand to quiet down the furor her question elicited. “Or a consortium of merchants. I realize that not everyone can swing an extra bill every month. But for those who can, imagine the rental income the venture could bring in.”

  “But even if we buy this building, what’s to keep the tattoo guy from simply opening his shop in the other vacant buildings?” Sue asked.

  “We could buy them all,” Katie said. “I mean, it would at least be worth going to the bank to see what we could do. Don’t you think?”

  “Count me in,” said Jordan. “My daughter still has a couple of years of high school left. Maybe by the time she went to college, I could have the rental income to pay for her education.”

  “You’re making the assumption that the building owner would agree to sell,�
�� Ray pointed out. “Maybe he’s promised it to Paul Fenton, and that’s the way it is.”

  “Anyone know the owner of the building in question?” Katie asked.

  “Harper Jones,” Conrad answered.

  “Oh, I know Harper,” Ray said. “I didn’t realize he owned a building on Victoria Square.”

  “Since you know him, would you please talk to him for us?” Katie asked.

  “Sure. I’ll be glad to.” He winked at her, and she quickly looked away.

  Things had been strange between them since Christmas, when he’d kissed her. It was a mere peck, and he’d claimed he did it because he thought she was wearing a sprig of mistletoe on her Dickens Festival costume’s bonnet. But their relationship was strained in a way it had never been before.

  She addressed the group. “So, Ray will see what he can learn from Mr. Jones, and then we’ll call another meeting to discuss the buying of one or more buildings on Victoria Square.”

  Katie forced a smile and wondered just what kind of mess they were all about to get into.

  * * *

  —

  When Katie returned to her cozy apartment above Angelo’s Pizzeria, she tried to call Andy, but there was no answer. Was he busy, or was he angry with her? She should’ve realized that the situation with Paul Fenton would have brought up memories of Ezra and his attempt to keep Andy out of the Merchants Association. It had been almost two years since she’d taken over both Artisans Alley and the Merchants Association, and it was easy to forget about Ezra’s tyranny.

  She sighed. Was the Merchants Association following in Ezra’s footsteps? He’d certainly have had a conniption at the thought of a tattoo parlor located on his quaint Square. Heck, a pizzeria had been enough to nearly cause him to have a stroke.

  After what could only be called a disaster of a day, Katie felt rather frazzled. Upon feeding her cats, Mason and Della, she went in the bathroom to run a tub filled with steaming, scented bubbles. She’d been up since before dawn baking scones and making egg and tuna salads for tea sandwiches before heading to Artisans Alley to tackle her six-month planner, which included outlining advertising for the holiday season. Relaxing in the soothing bath water would be heavenly.