War of the Noses, page 1
War of the Noses
A NORA BLACK MIDLIFE PSYCHIC MYSTERY BOOK THREE
RENEE GEORGE
BARKSIDE OF THE MOON PRESS
War of the Noses
A Nora Black, Midlife Psychic Book 3
Copyright © 2020 by Renee George
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement by the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and storylines in this book are inspired only by the author’s imagination. The characters are based solely in fiction and are in no relation inspired by anyone bearing the same name or names. Any similarities to real persons, situations, or incidents is purely coincidental.
Print edition: August 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947177-36-9
240 pages
Publisher: Barkside of the Moon Press
Contents
Paranormal Mysteries & Romances
Acknowledgments
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Aroma With A View
About the Author
Paranormal Mysteries & Romances
BY RENEE GEORGE
Grimoires of a Middle-aged Witch
https://www.renee-george.com/GMW
Earth Spells Are Easy
Spell On Fire
When the Spells Blows
Spell Over Troubled Water
Ghost in the Spell
* * *
Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mysteries
www.norablackmysteries.com
Sense & Scent Ability (Book 1)
For Whom the Smell Tolls (Book 2)
War of the Noses (Book 3)
Aroma With A View (Book 4)
* * *
Peculiar Mysteries
www.peculiarmysteries.com
You’ve Got Tail (Book 1) FREE Download
My Furry Valentine (Book 2)
Thank You For Not Shifting (Book 3)
My Hairy Halloween (Book 4)
In the Midnight Howl (Book 5)
My Peculiar Road Trip (Magic & Mayhem) (Book 6)
Furred Lines (Book7)
My Wolfy Wedding (Book 8)
Who Let The Wolves Out? (Book 9)
My Thanksgiving Faux Paw (Book 10)
* * *
Witchin’ Impossible Cozy Mysteries
www.witchinimpossible.com
Witchin’ Impossible (Book 1) FREE Download
Rogue Coven (Book 2)
Familiar Protocol (Booke 3)
Mr & Mrs. Shift (Book 4)
* * *
Barkside of the Moon Mysteries
www.barksideofthemoonmysteries.com
Pit Perfect Murder (Book 1) FREE Download
Murder & The Money Pit (Book 2)
The Pit List Murders (Book 3)
Pit & Miss Murder (Book 4)
The Prune Pit Murder (Book 5)
Two Pits and A Little Murder (Book 6)
* * *
Madder Than Hell
www.madder-than-hell.com
Gone With The Minion (Book 1)
Devil On A Hot Tin Roof (Book 2)
A Street Car Named Demonic (Book 3)
* * *
Hex Drive
https://www.renee-george.com/hex-drive-series
Hex Me, Baby, One More Time (Book 1)
Oops, I Hexed It Again (Book 2)
I Want Your Hex (Book 3)
Hex Me With Your Best Shot (Book 4)
* * *
Midnight Shifters
www.midnightshifters.com
Midnight Shift (Book 1)
The Bear Witch Project (Book 2)
A Door to Midnight (Book 3)
A Shade of Midnight (Book 4)
Midnight Before Christmas (Book 5)
Praise for Renee George
“Sense and Scent Ability by Renee George is a delightfully funny, smart, full of excitement, up-all-night fantastic read! I couldn’t put it down. The latest installment in the Paranormal Women’s Fiction movement, knocks it out of the park. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy today!”
—ROBYN PETERMAN NYT BESTSELLING AUTHOR
* * *
"I'm loving the Paranormal Women's Fiction genre! Renee George's humor shines when a woman of a certain age sniffs out the bad guy and saves her bestie. Funny, strong female friendships rule!"
-- MICHELLE M. PILLOW, NYT & USAT BESTSELLING AUTHOR
"I smell a winner with Renee George's new book, Sense & Scent Ability! The heroine proves that being over fifty doesn't have to stink, even if her psychic visions do."
-- MANDY M. ROTH, NY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
“Sense & Scent Ability is everything! Nora Black is sassy, smart, and her smell-o-vision is scent-sational. I can’t wait for the next Nora book!
—MICHELE FREEMAN, AUTHOR OF HOMETOWN HOMICIDE, A SHERIFF BLUE HAYES MYSTERY
For My BFFs.
You are the reasons I can write best friends who really have each others’ backs! I love you!
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to BFFs Robbin, Michele, and Robyn for diligently reading through this story multiple times. You helped me make it so great! Thank you for being my people! I love you guys!
To my editor Kelli Collins. You are a great friend and my rock! I’m sorry I am such a crap client. LOL (The woman is a saint, people!)
To the PWF #13 - Thanks for bringing attention to heroines of a certain age. You ladies are magnificent.
My husband Steve and my son Taylor for taking up the slack around the house, and most of all, leaving me alone to write! I literally couldn’t do this without you.
My BFF Dakota Cassidy for being my one true heart when it comes to all things bingeworthy. I love you, girl!
And finally, to the readers. You are making this midlife writer happier than you can even imagine! Thank you for loving Nora and going on this journey with her and her BFF brigade.
My name is Nora Black. I'm turning fifty-two, but I don't feel a day over thirty-nine. That is, when my feet don't hurt, my eyesight isn't failing, and my scent-induced psychic ability isn't showing me crimes.
For my birthday, my best friends Gilly and Pippa signed us up for a weekend at the Central Midwest Spa Convention. Yay. Massages, fine dining, maid service, and best of all, as long as we attend a few workshops, the weekend is a tax write-off. It should be all sunshine and roses, right? Wrong.
My former intern at Belliza Beauty, aka the Job Stealer, Carmen Carraway, is a featured presenter. Yuck. Throw in an ex-boyfriend, a number one fan, a brewing scandal, and a dead body, and my relaxing birthday weekend is DOA.
I'll need all my senses, along with my friends, if I want to stop a killer from striking once again.
Chapter
One
Thursday, August 7th…
“I'm gonna miss you,” Ezra said as he nuzzled my ear.
I giggled. “It's only for four days.” I turned in his arms and leaned into his kisses. “But I'm going to miss you, too.”
It had been a few months since he'd first declared his love for me over Memorial Weekend. Now it was August, and every day with him this summer had made me happier than I could've imagined. Not that I had thought finding love after fifty was impossible, I just hadn't thought it could feel so exciting and brand new again.
“I hate missing your birthday.” His emerald-green gaze mesmerized me. “But I'm glad you're getting away with Gilly and Pippa. Even if it's a work thing.”
“Hardly work.” I smiled. Gilly, Pippa, and I were headed to the annual Central Midwest Spa Convention in the city for a girls' weekend of relaxation and reconnection. Gilly had booked us massages for late this afternoon, facials and mani-pedis on Friday, and I was looking forward to seeing all my old friends and clients, and bonus, dressing up as a flapper for the Roaring Twenties dinner party on Saturday evening.
Ezra cupped my neck, his fingers entwining my hair and diverting my thoughts from the beauty biz to him. “Call me tonight.”
“Promise,” I said as he pressed his forehead against mine.
“You two need to stop canoodling and get to packing up the damn vehicle,” Gilly Martin, my BFF since kindergarten, said as she dragged a large suitcase, her second one, down to the curb from her house.
The house right next to mine.
The thought made me smile. I had closed four weeks ago on the ranch home in Gilly's cul-de-sac. Mr. Garner, the previous owner, had moved away from Garden Cove after a short stint in jail for assault with a deadly weapon and withholding evidence from the police. He'd been a sweet man, who'd lost his way when his daughter had disappeared. I'd helped him find the truth about his girl, and he'd shown his gratitude by selling me the house under market value. I'd offered him more, but he'd been ready to move on. I missed his beagle, Godiva, who I'd taken care of while the older man had been incarcerated, but I was glad she was back with her furdad.
“Our bags are already in the trunk,” I said, referring to mine and Pippa's suitcases. “As yours would be if you had packed last night like I suggested.”
“I don't operate that way,” Gilly quipped. She smacked my butt cheek as she passed me on the way to the SUV Pippa had rented for our trip. She wore khaki chinos, a sage-green tank top, and a bright pink pair of tennis shoes. The ensemble accentuated and flattered her curves.
As I watched Gilly try to manage her luggage, I didn't attempt to keep the incredulity from my voice. “For someone who waited until the last minute, you sure packed a lot of stuff. How many suitcases do you have? It's a good thing we got a sports vehicle. As it is, I might have to ride on your lap.”
“You're,” Gilly hauled up the first bag and loaded it into the hatchback, “being,” she grunted as she shoved the second bag on top of the first, “dramatic.”
“I don't think you are,” Ezra whispered. “Did she pack her entire closet?”
“And her entire dresser,” I answered.
Gilly touched the button on the hatch.
It lowered then raised.
I chuckled.
She frowned and pushed it again.
It lowered then raised. She clenched her fists and let out a noise of frustration. “It won't flippin' close.”
Pippa Davenport, my other best friend, came out Gilly's front door wagging her finger. “I told her she packed too much damn stuff.” Pippa—dressed in designer jeans, strappy sandals, and a pale pink scoop-neck shirt—had arrived an hour earlier to have coffee and to help light a fire under Gilly's butt. She brushed her mid-length blonde hair off her shoulders. At thirty-six years old, she was the youngest in our group. Even so, over the years that I'd known her, she had perfected the stare of a disappointed parent. She turned that look on Gilly. “Now, get it in the trunk or get it out.”
“That's what she said,” I joked quietly. Ezra chuckled.
“But I need it,” Gilly whined. “I need all of it.”
Pippa looked unconvinced. “For one weekend?”
It was technically a four-day event, opening today, which was Thursday, with events going through Sunday morning, but Pippa wasn't wrong. Gilly had packed way too much for our short trip.
Gilly didn't agree. “One suitcase is for clothes, one for shoes and snacks, and the carry-on bag has my makeup and hair stuff in it. What would you like me to leave behind, Pippa? My curling iron? My trail mix? My underwear?” She was getting herself worked up.
“Calm down, Norma Rae,” I said, pulling away from Ezra and heading down to the SUV. I took out the bags, all four of them—two Gilly's, one mine, one Pippa's—plus the small carryon and, with some effort, reorganized the larger bags sideways so that they slid in next to each other. I put the carryon bag on its side and placed it on top. I stepped back, hit the button, and the hatch closed completely. I looked at Gilly. “Voíla.”
She smiled triumphantly back at me. “See. I told you they would fit.”
“Only because I’ve been the reigning champion of Tetris since 1984.” I looked at my smartwatch. Eight thousand and thirteen steps since I'd gotten up this morning at six a. m., pulse seventy-two, and the time was ten-fifteen now. “Damn it. We have to go.” I looked back at Ezra with a sigh.
“Hey,” said Pippa. “That should be, yay, we get to go. You can live without Ezra for a weekend. You don't see me getting all sappy about leaving Jordy.”
“Yeah,” Gilly agreed. “I didn't plan this weekend for you to be a big fuddy-dud. So, no pining for Detective Hot Stuff. We are going to have a great time.”
“Is it okay if Detective Hot Stuff pines for Nora?” Ezra asked.
“Absolutely.” I sealed my response with a kiss before patting his chest in lieu of goodbye.
As much as I'd miss Ezra's company, I was happy to be getting away from work and Garden Cove for a few days with my BFFs. Besides, I'd loved going to the expos and conventions when I worked as the regional sales manager for Belliza Beauty. Every year the company came out with new and exciting cutting-edge skincare lines, makeup, and hair care. Barbara DeMonde, the sales director for Chromorphia Cosmetics and my former college roommate, was the keynote speaker for the main event on Saturday, and I couldn't wait to see her.
I smiled at both Gilly and Pippa. “We're going to have a killer time.”
“This weekend is going to suck,” I said as we made our way through the lobby of the Frazier Ambassador Hotel a little after noon. On a billboard near the convention registration table was an announcement that Carmen Carraway, the younger viper of a woman who had taken my job as regional sales manager for Belliza Beauty, was the keynote speaker for the Beauty Trends event on Saturday.
“I thought Barbara DeMonde was giving that talk,” Pippa said. “That was one of the things you were most excited for. How in the world did Carmen the Terrible get the gig?”
“Is this the chick you mentored, only to have her stab you in the back by taking your job?” Gilly asked.
“Yep, but in the grand scheme of life, she did me a favor—albeit her method could have been less crappy,” I said. “Her taking my job gave me the push I needed to open Scents & Scentsability.” And I regretted nothing. But it didn't stop my irritation at Carmen's apparent star status. It wasn't exactly that I wanted her to fail, but it didn't mean I wanted her success rubbed in my face.
“I'll text Barbara later to make sure she's okay. And honestly, I don't care if Carmen is the keynote speaker.” I was a liar, liar, pants on fire, but whatever. There was no sense in letting Gilly and Pippa know that I was just the tiniest bit jealous of my old counterpart. I pulled my shoulders back and waved my hand dismissively. “I've got my girls, my man, and my health. I'm not going to let anything or anyone spoil our weekend.”
Gilly lightly punched my upper arm. “That's the spirit.”
“I had to work for that woman after you went on hiatus,” Pippa said with a bitter expression on her lovely face. “I'm not sure I can be nice if I run into Queen Maleficent. She made me get her dry cleaning, Nora. Ugh.”
“You got my dry cleaning for me,” I pointed out.
Pippa furrowed her brow. “Because I wanted to, not because it was part of my job. Plus, you always said thank you.”
I wasn't going to argue with her. Carmen had jumped at the chance to kick me when I was down by taking my job while my mother was sick. That alone had been enough to make Pippa, who was extremely loyal to me, dislike her on my behalf.
“You know Maleficent got a bad rap, don't you?” Gilly asked.
“What do you want me to call her? Disney Princess?” Pippa's lips thinned into a grimace. “Cruella De Vil, Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook?”
“Think of her as Voldemort.” I nodded toward the front desk. “And let's avoid saying her name this weekend. We should get checked in. We'll deal with registration after we get our bags up to the room.” We'd booked a double king suite for the three of us. Gilly and I had lost roshambo—best two out of three—to Pippa, so we got to share a bed, and Pippa got the other king all to herself.
“I'll handle the check-in,” Pippa said. “You guys wait here with the bags.” She took off before Gilly or I could object. Not that I would have. The line was long, and I didn't relish the idea of being crammed between a bunch of strangers.
