by Cindy Bell
“Hopefully,” Suzie nodded as she had a sip of her coffee.
“If only we knew something that might connect him to the crime.”
“I think I might,” Suzie replied in a murmur.
“What is it?” Louis asked eagerly.
“I'll let you know when I find out if I’m right.”
As they drove to Larry's house they were both fairly silent aside from slurping coffee and munching on the muffins. Suzie knew that Louis wasn't used to this kind of activity, in truth she wasn't used to it either, not any more. She had become much more used to renovating and decorating than investigating.
They parked a short distance from the driveway that led up to Larry's house. The driveway was empty when they arrived.
“Now what?” Louis asked.
“Now, we wait,” Suzie replied with determination. “Let's get closer,” she suggested.
The two left the car behind and walked to the end of the driveway. It was a corner lot that backed up to the woods, so there was a good amount of brush surrounding the driveway. Suzie and Louis crouched down behind it. Not a minute later they heard the rumbling of an engine.
“Is that him?” Louis asked and tried to stick his head out.
“He's pulling in now,” Suzie said and tugged Louis back into the bushes beside the entrance of the driveway.
“What are we going to do?” Louis asked with fear rising quickly in his voice. “He'll see us!”
“Shh,” Suzie insisted. “He won't see us if you quiet down and stay down,” she whispered. Louis tightened his lips and lowered his head. The car rumbled past them and up towards the house. The engine turned off. Suzie heard the squeak of the car door as it slowly opened. She closed her eyes for a moment and wondered if it was worth the calculated risk that she was about to take. She could hear the car door beginning to close once more. She knew that once Larry made it into the house, he would have the upper hand. She had to make her move before it was too late.
“Stay here,” she hissed at Louis.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. Without answering she stepped out from behind the bushes.
Larry was just about to slam the door shut when Suzie called out to him. “Larry? Do you have a moment?”
He froze, the door still slightly open. Then he looked slowly over his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly.
“I'm sorry, I know this must seem strange to you. When we were at the bar the other day, I noticed that you were enjoying those pistachios so much. I was wondering if you knew where to find some, not just the run of the mill pistachios, but the best pistachios,” she said with a soft laugh.
“What are you talking about?” Larry demanded with irritation. “You stalked me, you followed me all of the way to my house, over pistachios?” he glared fiercely at her. “You need to get off my property before I call the police!”
“Would you, Larry?” she asked as she moved between him and the house. “Because I am here about the pistachios. I think the police would be very interested in the pistachios as well.”
“Have you lost your mind?” he asked sharply. “Why would the police be interested in pistachios?”
“Perhaps they would be interested in the pistachio shells that were found on the balcony that Warren Blasser stood on just before he died,” Suzie suggested. All of a sudden Larry's expression grew as hard as rock.
“What did you just say to me?” he asked in a wicked voice.
“You heard me,” Suzie replied daringly. “Is that what you used to coax him out of his room?” she pressed. “Did you throw your pistachio shells up against the window of his room until he stepped out onto the balcony?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he shook his head. “You are truly mental.”
“I don't think so,” Suzie said grimly. “I also think when the police test the DNA on those pistachio shells, they're not going to find Warren's. They're going to find yours.”
“Why would they test them?” Larry laughed. “It was an accident. A terrible tragedy that occurred because of your negligence. Isn't that what everyone believes?”
“You forget one very important factor in all of this, Larry. My cousin, Jason, is on the Garber police force. All I have to do is ask him to test those pistachios and he will make it happen,” Suzie locked eyes with Larry to show him that she was not frightened by him.
“Oh, the Garber police?” Larry asked with mock fear in his voice. “How terrifying,” he rolled his eyes. “You need to move on before you get yourself hurt.”
“I'm not the one who is going to be hurt,” Suzie said as she narrowed her eyes. “You murdered a man on my property, and you have to pay for that.”
“I didn't do it, and you can't prove I did,” Larry nearly shouted back. “You don't have any pistachio shells with my DNA. I'm not stupid. I'm an artist,” he growled.
“An artist that has gone to prison for his crimes,” Suzie challenged. “That's where you're going back to.”
“I will never go to prison again,” Larry abruptly roared. His dominant demeanor suddenly became violent as he jerked the door of his car open. Suzie heard the squeak of the door and saw Larry's hand reach into the vehicle for something. She was too startled to do anything to defend herself. She could only watch as he moved swiftly. When he stood back up again he had something in his hand. Suzie was sure it was a weapon. “You should have walked away when I gave you the chance,” he shouted. “Now, you're going to have to be another unexplained fatality.”
Suzie started to take a step back. She heard a twig snap, and expected that Louis had come out from behind the bushes in an attempt to protect her. But before she could create distance between herself and Larry he had his arm around her waist. He jerked her body back hard against his and pinned her there. Suzie could barely breathe as his arm across her stomach was so tight. Then she felt a cold, hard object pressed against the side of her neck.
“Don't take another step,” he growled. Suzie saw Louis standing a few feet away from them, his eyes filled with fear.
“Suzie, don't move,” Louis said as he froze where he stood. Suzie's heart began pounding. She didn't know exactly what was pressing against her neck but she could feel a point and knew that it had to be made out of metal. Her stomach churned as she wondered if these would be the last moments of her life.
“Get down,” Larry commanded Louis.
Louis slowly sank to his knees in the dirt driveway, his eyes locked to Suzie. “Larry, you don't have to do this,” Louis said. “This was all a misunderstanding. Obviously you had nothing to do with Warren Blasser's death. Nobody is going to send you back to prison.”
Suzie cringed as Larry laughed loudly beside her ear. “Oh yes, we'll all just shake hands and become the best of friends, right?” he shook his head. “Wrong.”
Suzie closed her eyes for a moment. She was trying to keep herself calm and her mind clear. She knew that losing focus at that moment would only cause her to make a big mistake.
“Larry, people know we're here,” she lied quietly. No one had any idea they were there. She hadn't even told Paul what she was up to. Jason wouldn't have any idea that she and Louis had decided to take matters into their own hands. They were alone with little hope of escape. “If you do this, you won't be going to prison for forgery, you'll be going to prison for murder. You were right, we don't have any proof that you killed Warren. But how do you think you're going to hide something like this?”
“You won't have to worry about that,” Larry replied with cruel amusement. “You'll be dead.”
He jerked her body hard to the right and began pulling her towards the door of the small house. “You too,” he said to Louis. “One wrong move and she's a goner.”
Louis looked helpless as he watched Larry drag Suzie. Reluctantly, he stood up and followed after them. Suzie knew that Louis was walking to his own demise. He was only cooperating in an attempt to protect her. He could have f
led at any moment. She felt such gratitude towards him. She never would have expected that he would try so hard to protect her.
As Larry walked towards the door to the house, Suzie thought of the birthday party she would be missing. She wondered if Mary would be able to run Dune House on her own, or would she give it up to pursue other things? As Larry started to pull her into the house, she thought about Paul. He had pleaded with her to be cautious, and she hadn't listened. She knew that would be no comfort to him. He had been living a solitary life when she first met him. He had reached out of his comfort zone to be with her, she doubted that he would ever do that again. She hated to think of him living the rest of his life alone.
“Larry, please,” she whispered. “I've done nothing to you. I've never hurt you, just let us go.”
“Not a chance,” he barked in her ear. He seemed to be struggling with the door handle. Suzie met eyes with Louis. She held his gaze. When she knew he was paying attention to her and not Larry, she mouthed a word to him.
“Run!”
Louis shook his head slightly. Suzie mouthed it again. She knew that the moment they were all inside the house there would be no chance of either of them surviving. She didn't want Louis to sacrifice himself for her. Louis hesitated again. She closed her eyes for a moment. She felt Larry finally get the door open. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes.
“Go,” she hissed. “Please!”
Louis grimaced, and then abruptly darted towards the edge of the yard.
“Get back here!” Larry shouted. “She's dead now, she's dead!” he said and Suzie felt the tip of whatever weapon he was using digging into the skin of her neck. She felt tears in her eyes. She had hoped that maybe Larry would be so startled by Louis' escape that he would loosen his grip on her, but he didn't. He was shouting and cursing at Louis, but he was still holding Suzie tightly. Suzie knew in the next second they would be in the house. There was no way Louis would be able to get help in time.
“Let her go,” a voice growled from just behind both of them. Suddenly, Suzie realized why Larry was having so much trouble getting into the house. Someone inside the house was holding the door shut.
“Who are you?” Larry growled and tugged Suzie back away from the door.
“It doesn't matter who I am,” the person replied. “All that matters is that I am the one with the gun.”
Suzie gasped at the word. She also recognized the voice. Her eyes filled with tears. She tilted her head to the side so that she could see Mary standing in the doorway. Not only was she glaring at Larry, she was pointing what appeared to be a very real gun directly at him.
“Like you even know how to use it,” Larry chuckled. “Just put the gun down, or this screwdriver goes into her pretty little neck,” Larry threatened. Mary raised an eyebrow. Then she released the safety on the gun. Suzie felt Larry shudder at the subtle click of the safety being released.
“All right, all right,” he mumbled and hesitantly lowered the screwdriver. Suzie felt a brief sense of relief. Then Larry roared and abruptly shoved Suzie directly at Mary, who was still pointing the gun at Larry. Suzie stumbled and fell into Mary's arms. Mary managed to lower the gun before the collision.
Suzie was so startled by being shoved it took her a moment to gain her composure. Suzie glanced around for Larry but it seemed as if he was long gone. “I guess he got away,” she sighed and shook her head. “Mary, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here, you saved my life!”
She turned to see a police car screaming into the driveway of the house. Jason nearly tripped as he jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop. He had his weapon drawn as he ran towards the two women.
“Are you okay?” he shouted as he skidded to a stop a few feet from them. His partner, Kirk, was running right behind him.
“We're okay,” Suzie said. “But Larry took off into the woods,” she pointed into the woods. Jason lifted his eyes from where Suzie was pointing to Mary, who was still nervously holding the gun in her hand. Jason cautiously moved closer to her.
“Give me that gun, Mary,” he said as calmly as he could. Suzie could hear the tension in his voice.
“It’s not loaded,” Mary said as she offered him the gun carefully. Suzie sighed with relief at the realization that it wasn’t loaded. Jason held the gun and then he turned to Kirk.
“Go after him,” he said tilting his head towards the woods. Kirk's eyes lingered on the gun for a moment, but he slowly nodded. He took off at a fast run into the woods. Suzie continued to hold tightly to Mary.
“Is this your gun, Mary?” Jason asked as he studied her intently.
Mary shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Not exactly,” she replied hesitantly.
“Mary?” Suzie asked with surprise. “Where did you get it from?”
“I'd rather not say,” Mary replied with a grimace.
Jason narrowed his eyes. He opened the chamber to ensure it wasn’t loaded then he handed the gun back to Mary.
“Jason, I…” Mary started to say.
“Not another word,” he warned her sharply. “I don't want to know whose weapon it is. As far as I'm concerned there was never a weapon here.”
Mary looked down shamefully and tucked the gun into her purse that hung at her side.
“What about Kirk?” Suzie asked nervously.
“I'll take care of Kirk,” Jason assured her. Just then Kirk radioed Jason to let him know that he had found Larry in the woods. “Is the suspect injured?” he asked.
“No,” Kirk's voice came back over the radio. He paused a moment before adding. “Says the ladies have a gun, but I didn’t see one.”
Jason nodded and smiled a little. “Me neither,” he replied.
“The two of you, just don’t mention the gun,” Jason warned them.
Mary nodded soundlessly. Suzie smiled faintly with appreciation. She knew that Jason was trying to protect them from getting into trouble for being in possession of a weapon that they didn’t own. As Jason jogged off into the woods to assist Kirk with Larry, Suzie looked over at her friend.
“It's over now, Mary,” she said soothingly.
“I was so scared,” Mary sighed.
“I know, so was I,” Suzie admitted. “How did you get in the house? How did you even know I was here? More importantly, whose gun is that?” Suzie demanded.
“I think I need to sit down,” Mary said as she sank down onto the first step of the small porch of the house.
“Okay,” Suzie said softly. “Louis must have called Jason when he ran. But I still don't understand, how did you know we were here?”
Mary shook her head. “I know you too well, Suzie.”
“What does that mean?” Suzie asked with confusion.
“It means I knew that you were up to something. I could tell that you were trying to keep me out of it. Which meant that it had to be pretty dangerous. So, when you left with Louis, I followed you. I parked a few houses down and was walking through the backyards so you wouldn't see me. That's when I saw you with Larry. I was behind the house so I tried his back door, and it was open. I walked through the house, and that's when I saw him holding that screwdriver at your neck. I knew that if he got you inside he would hurt you, so I was holding the door shut. When I saw Louis run, I knew that I had to act fast, because Larry was going to panic.”
“I told Louis to run,” Suzie said gently. “He tried to protect me.”
“I know you did,” Mary sighed. “Always trying to save others.”
“Not this time,” Suzie pointed out. “This time you saved me. But I still don't understand whose gun this is?” she asked.
Mary grimaced, “Wes questioned Gerald and found out about Larry, he told me what he had found out about Larry's past and that he suspected there was a connection between Larry and Warren, which led him to believe that Larry really was involved with Warren's death. I knew that it was going to be dangerous, and I knew that you and Louis were going to ge
t in the middle of it. I also knew where Wes kept his extra weapon…”
“This is Wes’ gun?” Suzie asked with a gasp. “Does he know you have it?”
“No, absolutely not, he would be furious if he knew. I made sure it wasn’t loaded when I got it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone I just wanted to protect you,” Mary shook her head. “I'm very lucky that Jason didn't take it. Then Wes would be in trouble, too.”
“You took a lot of risks, Mary,” Suzie admonished. “You could have been hurt or killed!”
“This from the woman who was being held hostage by a murderer?” Mary demanded as she looked into her friend's eyes. “I know that you think I've lived a sheltered life as a wife and mother, Suzie, while you've been out doing adventurous things. But when it comes to you, there is no way I am going to hesitate to do what I have to do to protect you.”
Suzie smiled warmly at her words. “I appreciate that, Mary,” she said as she hugged Mary again. “You're right. I didn't want you to get in the middle of all of this. But it's not because I think you're sheltered. It's your birthday, I just wanted it to be a special time for you.”
“Well, I held a gun,” Mary laughed a little.
“Not a word,” Jason warned as he and Kirk emerged from the woods with Larry handcuffed between them. Kirk swept his gaze over the two women. His expression was stoney. Suzie still wasn't sure that he could be trusted, but he didn't seem to be asking about the weapon, and he was the one that said he hadn’t seen a gun.
“I guess you'll be going back to prison after all, Larry,” Suzie said smugly. “For a much longer time, this time.”
Larry scowled at her. Kirk led him to the police car and guided him into the back seat. Louis appeared from the bushes beside the driveway. Only then did Suzie realize he had never really left. He had only hidden.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked as he walked up to Suzie and Mary.
“We will be,” Suzie promised him. “Thanks to you calling the police,” she added.
“I didn't know what else to do,” Louis admitted.
“You did exactly the right thing, Louis,” Mary said.