Candidate for Murder: A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery, #35

By K.J. Emrick

Darcy Sweet has had enough...

 

...enough of the antics of the current mayor of Misty Hollow, Andy Blanchard. 

 

She has decided to run for office herself!

 

However, her campaign takes a dark turn when another candidate is found murdered, casting suspicion on both herself and Andy.

 

Determined to clear her name, Darcy teams up with her Police Chief husband Jon to investigate the murder.

 

As they dig deeper into the case, they discover that the victim had a complicated past, full of secrets and deceit.

 

Meanwhile, out-of-town TV reporter Evangeline Moon arrives in Misty Hollow to cover the election and gets caught up in the murder investigation.

 

With the help of the dead candidate's ghost, Darcy, Jon, and Evangeline work to piece together the clues and catch the killer.

 

In this cozy mystery full of twists and turns, Darcy and friends must navigate through a web of lies and deceit to uncover the truth behind the murder and clear her name.

 

Will they be able to solve the case before the election? Only time will tell in Misty Hollow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: South Coast Publishing
• Release date: May 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215194386

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

I swear on a stack of Bible’s, Jon, the man has gone too far!

The dinner conversation at the Tinker-Sweet home had been much the same for the past three days. Darcy Sweet knew she was repeating herself, but she just couldn’t seem to stop. She should switch to another topic, and she knew that. She just couldn’t think about anything else.

The mayor of Misty Hollow had really gotten under her skin this time, and if she didn’t at least try to put her feelings into words…well, she felt like she might just explode!

From his side of their small kitchen table, her loving husband Jon Tinker gave her a sympathetic look that was only partly spoiled by the mirth gleaming in his clear blue eyes. He didn’t say anything, though. He knew she wasn’t done. More than that, he knew better than to interrupt his wife when she was on a roll like this. Jon was a smart man that way. It was just one of the reasons why she loved him. Devoted husband, amazing father, not to mention a brilliant chief of police. He was the total package. He could cook, too. She was a lucky woman.

She was also an angry woman.

First, she said, flicking out a finger as she counted off her many points, he brings in all these big box stores to town, while raising the taxes on all the independent stores that have always been here.

Like your bookstore, Jon said.

Right! Exactly like my bookstore. Darcy shook her head, remembering how much that decision by Mayor Andy Blanchard had reduced her profit margin. My store, the diner, the candle store, Martha Wellington’s jam and jelly business…all of these places actually bring in the tourism dollars that keep this town alive. What do the big box stores do?

Sell household necessities at discount prices, Jon suggested drily.

She gave him a level stare. Which would you rather have, thirty-six packs of toilet paper or a thriving community?

Personally, he told her, I would rather have my wife happy.

I knew you were a smart man. She picked up her cup of milk, and then set it down again without taking a sip. She thrust out two fingers this time. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, he was going to tear up the park, bulldoze it into the ground and pave over it, just to put up a parking lot! A parking lot, for Pete’s sake! Do you remember that idiotic plan?

What I remember, Jon answered as he took another bite of his pork chop, is how you stopped him. I also remember he was furious with your solution.

Good. It served him right! Darcy tossed her graying black hair over her shoulder, and tried picking at her green beans with her fork. At forty-nine years old, she was old enough to know she should eat her vegetables…and old enough to not eat them if she didn’t want to! Then, there was his whole proposed ban on walking dogs between ten at night and eight in the morning. Remember that little gem? Like he has any say over when a dog has to do their business!

Well, thankfully there are enough dog lovers in town to vote that one down, Jon reminded her. Nobody’s going to tell our Cha Cha when he can and can’t go to the bathroom, that’s for sure.

From over by the refrigerator, Cha Cha the Bassador hound picked his head up from his bowl of kibble and yipped a quick bark. He was always listening, with those long and floppy ears of his. Brown and white, he was the youngest fur baby in their family, but he wasn’t shy about letting them know his mind.

Sitting nearby, a gray cat with one black-tipped ear gave Cha Cha a veiled glare. Tiptoe’s pearlescent green eyes spoke volumes. Dogs were gross, in her opinion. Better to be a cat, and not worry about anybody’s rules.

Darcy pushed her unfinished plate completely away now, giving her space on the little round table to drop her reading tablet. She and Jon could both see the headline from the local online news source. Because she loved to read, her tablet was top of the line and she instantly regretted dropping it like that. She usually wasn’t so disrespectful to her belongings but at times like this, when she was reading such complete nonsense, she wished she still had a regular newspaper delivery to the house. That way she could crumple it up into a ball and throw it in the trash!

And now he does this! she exclaimed.

Mayor Andy Blanchard Demands Debates with Political Rivals for Mayor.

Can you believe this? Darcy continued. For Pete’s sake, how does this man tie his own shoes in the morning without tripping over his own laces and breaking his neck!

Her hazel eyes tried to burn a hole through her tablet by sheer force of will. When that didn’t work, she picked it up again and shook it…which was when she noticed that Jon was smirking at her. She turned her glare on him instead. Putting the tablet aside with her plate—gently this time—she folded her arms.

He knew that look, and he knew better than to push his luck. He dropped the smile immediately, raising his hands in surrender.

You’re only mad because it was your idea first, he said. You told him there needed to be two good, solid debates between the candidates. You told him that it was necessary for people to gather the facts and make an informed decision come election day. You told him that he was being a—and I’m going to quote you here—turkey loving coward who was hiding behind his pinstriped suits, for not wanting to do the debates.

That’s exactly what I said! Darcy could feel the righteous indignation running through her veins. How dare he try to present this like it was his idea!

I agree, but I’m not sure how calling the man a ‘turkey lover’ is going to solve everything.

Well, there were kids around, Darcy pouted, wishing she could have called the mayor something a little more colorful.

Also, Jon added, I’m not sure he wears pinstriped suits. I’m not sure anyone wears pinstripe suits anymore, actually…

That’s not the point! She was shouting again, but she couldn’t help it. You know why I’m really upset?

Yes, I do.

Do you?

Yes.

Why am I really upset, Jon?

You’re upset, he told her, not bothering to hide his smile now, because you happen to be one of those ‘political rivals’ that the mayor mentioned in the article. You’re running against him to be mayor!

Darned right I am! Darcy picked her fork up again, and stabbed it forcefully into the cold remains of her dinner. And I’m going to win!

This time Jon laughed out loud. He tried to cover it behind a cough, but he and Darcy had been married for a lot of years now, and she knew him too well not to see it. Also, she was pretty sure someone standing on the moon would see it.

What’s so funny, Mister Police Officer?

I’m not laughing, he said, his grin getting bigger. Okay, well, I’m laughing but I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at Mayor Andy. He doesn’t have a clue who he’s up against! If he knew what you were like when you get all fired up like this, he would go dig himself a hole somewhere to hide, and pull the ground in behind him. Nobody beats Darcy Sweet when she’s this focused on something!

Fired up? Darcy repeated back at him. Who’s fired up?

Jon kept smiling at her as he pointed down to her hands. When Darcy followed his gaze, she saw that she had picked up the roll from her plate and mashed it into a ball of mush in the palm of her hand, just like what she wanted to do with the imaginary newspaper earlier.

Oh. Well. Maybe she was a little fired up.

She made herself relax her fingers and when she did, the felt the tension bleeding out of the rest of her as well. Jon was right. She was laser focused on this election. In fact, she’d been this way ever since the last town meeting, when she had blurted out in front of everyone that she would run for mayor herself if no one else was going to do it. The idea had been percolating in her brain for a long time, in fact, but then Mayor Andy Blanchard had finally gone one step too far. That attempt to basically outlaw dogs from the streets of Misty Hollow at night…that was one bad decision too many as far as she was concerned.

That moment had been completely spontaneous, and she distinctly remembered wondering what in the world she was doing, but everyone had cheered her on. There had even been a few whistles of encouragement. Then suddenly there were signs in people’s yards, and petitions with her name on them, and it was like she had started a movement without even trying.

In a way, it felt really good. Friends and neighbors had been showing up on her doorstep, day after day, telling her that she had their unconditional support. Most of them wanted her to promise to take care of things like potholes and broken streetlights, but the support was nice.

On the other hand, it was also terrifying. Darcy had never done anything like this before. She was a simple woman, who loved books and loved her family and just wanted what was best for the town of Misty Hollow. Andy was not what was best for anyone. She might be a simple woman, but she was still a better man than Andy!

Of course she could see ghosts, and maybe that made her not so simple, but everyone had that one little thing, right? Her thing was just a little bit more special than most.

Not that she was going to mention the ghost thing in the debates. That might not go over well with the people who didn’t know. Which, of course, was just about everyone. She wanted to be known for making Misty Hollow better. Not for being that ‘crazy lady’ who was friends with Casper.

She was still smiling at Jon as she wiped the bread mush off her hands with a cloth napkin. He gave her a wink, and finished the rest of his porkchop. He’d made his point.

Well, she said with a sigh, at least it won’t just be me and Mayor Andy up there during the debates. I guess I’m not the only one who’s had enough of Andy Blanchard. So. A three-way debate for mayor. When was the last time something like this happened here?

1974, Jon answered without any hesitation. I had Abraham Saunders look it up for me in the museum archives. The man knows exactly where everything is in the museum, by the way. He could find a paperclip in the modern art section if I asked him to.

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

He laughed again. What? I was curious about the three-way election thing too. If my wife was going to make history, I wanted to know about it. This is going to be big news, you know. Lots of people around New England are going to be watching this whole thing unfold with popcorn in one hand and a scorecard in the other. Finally, something that will put Misty Hollow in the news that doesn’t involve murder and mayhem.

Well, bully for me, she said sarcastically. Glad I could help.

Although, he wasn’t wrong. Misty Hollow had gained a reputation over the years, based on the unfortunate fact that their murder rate rivalled New York City’s in the 1980s. Not exactly something to be proud of, Darcy thought with a grimace, but it had certainly spurred a rise in tourism dollars. People came here as much to take pictures of the beautiful scenery of rolling hills and trees, as they did to take selfies in front of the Town Hall where the Pilgrim Ghost was said to burn eternally in ghostly flames.

Simply put, people were attracted to danger. People were often stupid, as Jon was fond of saying, but even stupid people spent money!

They bought souvenirs in the shops on Main Street, and travel mugs from her bookstore with the slogan The Mysterious Is All Around Us and those stupid Murder Maps that Donnie Akers printed on his home computer. Two bucks apiece, those maps sold for, and from what Darcy understood Donnie was close to being able to replace his aging Chevy HHR with something a little more reliable. Darcy even had one of them in a drawer somewhere. Overlaid on a map of Misty Hollow streets, Donnie had placed yellow stars that highlighted the location of recent murders, and a brief description of each one.

Unfortunately, there were a whole lot of stars…but this was Misty Hollow, after all.

Darcy remembered each one of those mysteries, and the crazy things that she and Jon had done to solve them. Her loving husband always had her back. Just like now, when he was supporting her wholeheartedly in the upcoming election.

It was a risk, but one he was happy to take. As the chief of police, Mayor Andy Blanchard was technically his boss. Backing one of the other two candidates in the election could be political suicide for Jon. Andy had already threatened to fire him if he didn’t stop. Not that this was the first time he’d threatened to fire Jon, but this time he actually might go through with it. That was fine with him, Jon had said. He was already thinking about retirement and besides, once Darcy won, she could just rehire him!

She simply could not love this man enough. How did she luck out to have a husband like him, this family they had, this wonderful life of hers? How could it get any better than this? Well, by cleaning up the dishes and spending time with Jon and the kids. That was how. The perfect ending to a frustrating day.

Darcy was just getting up from her chair when a little boy who was starting to look a lot like Jon came wandering into the kitchen from the living room. He gave her a very serious look.

Mom? Zane Tinker asked her. Are you tired?

She stared at their eight-year-old son, with his shock of unruly dusty-blonde hair and those blue eyes that were nearly the same shade as his father’s. He had Jon’s mannerisms, too, and he came by that expression of inquisitive curiosity naturally.

Tired? she asked him with a little frown. What makes you say that, honey?

You said you were gonna do a bunch of running, he clarified, with the impeccable logic of youth. I know when I do a bunch of running at school or whatever, I always get tired.

Across the table, Jon hid a smile. Darcy chuckled as she caught on. "It’s not that kind of running, honey. That’s just what we call it when