Murder at the Office E-Book

J.J. Brass

• Herausgeber: Rainbow Crush
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Sharon and her teenaged daughter haven’t been on the best of terms since the divorce. Perhaps it’s natural for a deodorant-eschewing lesbian punk to avoid her mother, but Sharon can’t help thinking there’s more to the story. When Kate shows up at the office, Sharon is stunned to see her. The only thing that could surprise Sharon more is finding the boss strangled to death! Can this mother and daughter pairing put their squabbles aside long enough to solve a murder? Or will the killer strike again… closer to home? Download your copy today and read this hilarious and heartfelt tale of murder afterhours! A queer and cozy mother/daughter mystery.

Leseprobe

Murder at the Office: A Mother Daughter Mystery

©2016 by J.J. Brass

All rights reserved.

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.

Cover design © 2016

First Edition2016

Murder at the Office

A Mother Daughter Mystery

By

J.J. Brass

Chapter One

When the call came in from reception, Sharon growled unapologetically. Swiping the phone from its cradle, she asked, “Rosa, what’s up?”

“You’ve got a visitor!” Rosa replied with a giggle.

Must be Nora surprising her with an indulgent afternoon snack from the froufrou cupcake bakery downstairs.

“Send her in,” Sharon said. “She knows the way.”

“Aren’t you even going to ask who it is?”

Sharon sighed. “Fine. Who is it, Rosa?”

The receptionist squealed into the phone before shouting, “It’s Kate!”

Sharon’s heart just about jumped out through her mouth. Kate? Couldn’t be. Kate didn’t even return her phone calls these days. That girl would never show up at the office unannounced.

Unless there was some sort of emergency.

Or maybe it was some other Kate Sharon’s mind had misplaced. A client perhaps?

Sharon asked Rosa, “Katewho?”

“Katewho!?” Rosa howled. “Your daughter Kate, of course! Lady, you’ve been working too hard.”

Goodness, it reallywasKate.

Excitement and apprehension wrapped their fingers around Sharon’s heart as she said, “Tell her to wait. I’ll be right out.”

No time to check her teeth for spinach or make sure her hair was relatively tame. She wouldn’t have worn such a frumpy outfit if she’d known she’d be seeing her daughter today. Oh well. Nothing she could do about it now. She popped out of her boxy little office and walk-ran through the labyrinthine hallways. She worried that if she took too long getting to reception her daughter might give up on her and jet.

Sharon took a brief moment to compose herself before stepping through the glass double-doors and into the finely-appointed reception area.

“There she is!” Rosa sang, as though Sharon’s daughter were Miss America.

Fat chance of that ever happening. Just look at the girl: blonde hair dyed pink and twisted into dreadlocks. Sharon couldn’t help but cringe internally. She pictured her daughter as a child: expressive eyes, sweet spirit, kind demeanor. What ever happened to that version of Kate?

Trying not to let her feelings show, Sharon wrapped her arms around her teen daughter. “Katie, honey, it’s so good to see you! Is everything okay?”

“Mom!” Kate growled, struggling out of Sharon’s hug. “Get your hands off me.”

“I’m sorry,” Sharon apologized, still clutching her daughter’s shoulder. “I’m just so happy you’re here. It isn’t an emergency, is it?”

“No emergency.”

“Your dad’s okay?”

“Dad’s fine, Mom.”

“You didn’t have a fight or anything?”

“No, Mom. We never fight.Himand me are nothing likeyouand me.”

Those words were a dagger to Sharon’s heart. Kate had always been Daddy’s Little Girl, but ever more so since Kate had developed her current sense of personal rebellion. It sometimes seemed she and Kate couldn’t be in the same room for more than five minutes without Sharon nagging the girl and Kate screaming obscenities. Living apart ripped at Sharon’s heartstrings daily, but she knew it was for the best.

“What brings you downtown?” Sharon asked. “Did you want to go out for lunch?

“Lunch?” Kate scoffed. “It’s almost 4:30.”

Sharon glanced at her watch. “So it is. Did you want to go out for a bite once I’m done for the day? Get a coffee? See a movie?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “You mean you don’t have plans with Nora?”

“Not tonight,” Sharon said matter-of-factly. “Nora has her sign language class on Thursdays.”

“Okay, well here’s the thing…” Kate unzipped her backpack, which she’d doodled unrepentantly upon with permanent marker—and which was now sitting on one of reception’s white leather chairs.

Right on cue the elevator dinged and who should emerge but the big boss Min and her favourite client Gwilym: a handsome younger man dressed in dark jeans and a neat jacket. He smelled like money and looked like a model. Even Kate’s jaw dropped as he entered the reception area next to Min, whose outfit was equally chic: a gold-toned sleeveless silk blouse with ruffles down the front, red skirt cut to the knee but so fitted it left little to the imagination. Her black hair was done up in a neat bun, and a circular red pendant hung on a chunky chain around her neck. It reminded Sharon of the Japanese flag. Perhaps Min wore it to highlight her Japanese heritage.

“Any messages?” Min asked Rosa.

As Rosa handed the boss a stack of message slips, Min’s gaze shifted across the reception area. Staring at Kate’s ripped black jeans and ratty hoodie, she asked, “Who have we here?”

“Min,” Sharon said. “You remember my little girl Kate.”

“Not so little anymore, I see.”

Sharon forced a laugh. “No, she’s grown into a young woman in her own right.”

“How old are you now?” Min asked.

“Almost seventeen,” Kate said.

“Almost seventeen?” Sharon chuckled. “Honey, you just turned sixteen three months ago.”

Kate scowled at her mother, then turned her gaze to Min. “I like your necklace. Where’d you get it?”

Min’s eyes widened as she fingered the red circle against her chest. “Oh, this? It was a gift. A gift from my husband.”

“He’s got good taste,” said Kate.

Gwilym’s brow furrowed. His lips pursed noticeably as he glanced in Min’s direction.

Min noticed the client’s oppressive stare and stopped touching the pendant. She folded her hands behind her back, which was a rare pose for her. Usually it was hands on hips or crossed angrily over her chest.

“I gather your visit to your mother’s workplace was unplanned,” Min said crisply. “Otherwise I imagine you’d have worn clothing more suitable for a business office.”

Kate’s face fell. Perhaps she’d understand now why Sharon complained so much about the boss. Even around the office, nobody seemed to realize how much work the boss heaved on Sharon’s head. No, that’s not quite true. Min’s assistant Hildred knew all too well how difficult the boss could be. Same went for Olga, the office cleaning woman. Olga had more than once been the target of Min’s wrath, and always for silly things like failing to leave straight vacuum patterns on the office carpeting. Poor Olga. Poor Hildred! Poor everybody who answered to Min the Terrible.

And now Kate was seeing that dreadful side of Min.

Pulling a colourful poster from her backpack, Kate said, “My band’s got a gig coming up. I’m here to make copies of the poster so we can put them up all over the city. We get paid a percentage of what they take in at the door, so we really need to get people out.”

“You didn’t invite me to this gig,” Sharon said. “Where is it? What time?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. You don’t want to come.”