Rear-View Murder: A Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Read Free Page B

the car as she loaded her groceries into the back seat.
    After pushing the empty cart to the cart return, she came back to her car. Before getting in, she inspected the trunk lock closely. There were some scratches and scrapes and what looked like small dents all around it. Gemma stood there looking at it for a moment, wondering if maybe at some point her little car had been broken into. The damage was minimal, but it was obvious something had definitely happened to it in the past.
    She tried the keys again and then tugged at the trunk without any results. “Okay, Gum Drop, you need to give up your secrets.”
    Glad that she was wearing sneakers instead of her usual high heeled shoes, Gemma stepped back and planted one good, solid kick right above the lock.
    And to her surprise, the lock released and the trunk popped open just a small crack.
    “Good girl,” Gemma said and approached the back of the car slowly, as if someone might jump out at her.
    When nothing happened after a few minutes, she hooked her fingers under the trunk lid and lifted upward slowly. The musty, dank smell hit her full force but she held her breath and opened the trunk all the way. Peering inside, all she could see was what looked like a pile of old, wrinkled, moldy, rotting blankets.
    “Yuck,” Gemma muttered. “No wonder you were so stinky, little girl. Let’s get this cleaned out.”
    She pushed the trunk almost closed and climbed behind the wheel. There were probably dumpsters out back where she could rid of the contents of that trunk and then maybe take it through the car wash.
    Feeling pretty proud of herself, Gemma drove around to the back of the store and, just like she’d predicted, there were several large dumpsters. She backed up to the one that was short enough for her to reach and walked around to the back of the car.
    “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get rid of this nasty cargo and you’ll be good as new,” Gemma said to the car as she opened the trunk wide and held her breath. “This is so gross.”
    Reaching in, Gemma caught the edge of what looked like a dark green blanket. It turned out to be a hoodie, covered with mold. Holding it with two fingers of one hand, she tossed it into the dumpster and turned back to the car. The next item was a heavier jacket but it was just as smelly and moldy. It went into the dumpster followed by what appeared to be piece of a blanket.
    The stench was horrible now and Gemma held her nose with one hand. When she reached in again, something bright skittered across the fabric. Gemma squealed and jumped back.
    Bugs. She hated bugs.
    She inched back up to the trunk with one hand over her mouth. But she saw what she had originally thought was a bug. Partially hidden in the folds of fabric was what looked like...a ring? She fished it out with one finger, not wanting to touch the garment that held it in place any more than she had to.
    The ring that circled the tip of her finger was beautiful. It sparkled in the sunshine, the tiny diamonds winking and glittering as Gemma examined it closely. “Jade,” she said aloud when she focused on the pale green stone nestled in a delicate heart shaped setting.
    It occurred to her that this was an engagement ring. She’d never seen one quite like this but Holly had taught her a lot about precious stones and jewelry design over the past year. This was exquisite and probably quite expensive. Maybe even an original piece. She tucked it safely in the pocket of her jeans, knowing that when Holly saw it she would be able to tell her more.
    But first, she had to finish cleaning out this trunk. Making a face, Gemma tugged at the next garment. It was a little more difficult to pull out, almost as if it was wedged under something. Finally, it came loose with a ripping sound and she quickly tossed it into the dumpster.
    Then she turned back to the car, wondering just how much stuff was in there and why it was all still in the trunk. Buddy obviously didn’t clean the car