by C S McDonald
“Tom!” Kate West’s voice called from behind them.
The sheriff turned to see her quickening down the ramp toward them. “What’s up, Kate? I’ve got to take care of this prisoner.”
“Take care of me, how?” Fiona demanded.
Breathless, Kate came to a sudden stop at the sheriff’s side. “Tom…we need to talk.”
“Now?”
Chancing a quick glimpse at Fiona, Kate managed a knowing guise. “I’ve had second thoughts about…well, about us. I think my decision to break-up was too hasty. Maybe we could try again...if...if you could forgive me. I was so wrong.”
The sheriff blinked back. “But I thought you were seeing—”
“I was. We’ve broken it off. It didn’t feel right with him.” She ran her hand up and down his arm. “Probably because I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve realized how good it was with you.”
He sucked in a breath. “Um…well…now isn’t the best time, Kate. I mean—”
“I dunno, Sheriff, now may be a very good time. I mean, c’mon, I’m not really a prisoner, not a felonious prisoner, anyway. I’m not a threat to the community. Honestly, we could forget the whole incident in the cafeteria. I’m willing to forget. Think about it, how many women would approach a man with reconciliation on her mind when he’s all soiled. Especially a gorgeous woman like her. Just sayin’,” Fiona put in.
The sheriff’s eyes snapped to the front of his slacks, then to Fiona, and then back to Kate. “I didn’t do this, you did!”
“It would’ve never happened if you’d have kept your hands to yourself!” Fiona snapped back.
“Oh, my God, Tom! You were groping her?” Kate gasped.
“No! No, of course not. I wasn’t groping her! Why would I grope her?”
“I dunno, you tell me, Tom!”
“She threw coffee on me!”
“I most certainly did not! You grabbed me, and the coffee spilled down the front of your pants,” Fiona corrected brusquely.
The sheriff’s face was flushed with agitation. His eyes smoldered with frustration. “I don’t have time for this! I’ve got to get rid—” He shut his mouth, hard.
“Get rid of what, Sheriff? Me? The thirty-eight special? Or both?” Fiona pressed.
“What’s she talking about? What have you gotten yourself involved in, Tom? It’s that Jillian Jewel, isn’t it? She’s nothing but trouble. What has she talked you into?” Kate demanded.
Blowing out an angry breath, the sheriff thrust Fiona in the direction of his cruiser. She almost fell, but he caught her to yank her to her feet. “I told you I don’t have time for this right now, Kate. We’ll talk later!”
“Where are you taking that woman?”
Opening the back door, he pulled Fiona toward the cruiser by her left elbow. “That’s none of your concern! This is police business.”
Kate grabbed Fiona by her right elbow. “I’m making it my concern, Sheriff! And I’m not buying the police business stuff!”
His nostrils were wide and his glare churned with infuriation. He heaved Fiona toward the vehicle. “Please, Kate, I don’t want to charge you with interfering with an arrest!”
Kate lugged Fiona back by the elbow. “Go ahead, charge me, Tom!”
“Ouch! Hey, guys! I’m starting to feel like the wishbone on Thanksgiving, here!” Fiona cried out.
Intensifying his grip on her arm that much more, he forcefully towed Fiona closer to the cruiser, and flung her inside. Letting out a yelp, she landed face-down on the backseat. He tried to close the door, but Fiona held it open with her feet.
Kate grappled for his arm. “Tom! You’re not thinking straight! You’ve got to stop before this gets worse than it already is!”
Shoving Kate to the pavement, he pushed Fiona’s feet all the way inside the backseat to slam the door. The sheriff raced around the cruiser, jumped into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.
With her heart beating madly inside her chest, Fiona appealed through the caging that separated the backseat from the front, “Where do you think you’re taking me? Kate knows I’m in your cruiser. She knows you’re entangled in something that’s terribly wrong. There’s really no way out, Sheriff. You need to calm down and think this through, carefully. There’s still time!”
“No there’s not!” Sheriff Paxton whipped the cruiser around, forcing Fiona backward against the seat with a jolt. He steered the vehicle away from the cafeteria toward the main thoroughfare which would take him to route two. Suddenly, he slammed on his brakes when a Hancock County police car with lights flashing pulled in front of his. “What is he doing!” the sheriff bellowed when an officer stepped out of the car. His breathing was heavy and his forehead dripped sweat. Tearing his hat from his head, he swiped the sweat away with his forearm as he watched the officer walk toward his cruiser. Using a rigid finger, the sheriff jabbed the button to let down his window. “This is why he’s still a deputy. What is wrong with him?”
“Tom,” the deputy called out. “Tom, you gotta surrender. They know you and Jillian Jewel were involved in the murder of Derrek Sperling and Devyn Youngwood. Please, Tom, just ease out of the car and keep your hands in sight.”
Instantly, headlights flashed on, illuminating the sheriff’s cruiser and the parking area around the corner and directly below the cafeteria. Lines of SUVs filled with state troopers occupied the lot. The troopers got out of their vehicles to train their weapons at the sheriff’s cruiser. Not absolutely confident in the sheriff’s compliance, Fiona huddled in the corner of the backseat.
Down through the din of state police vehicles, rolled a black Denali, it came to a stop just feet from the sheriff’s car, and Detective Nathan Landry slid out.
With measured steps, the deputy approached the left side of the cruiser, while the detective approached the right. The deputy cajoled, “Please, Tom, ease on out of the car. It’ over, Tom. It’s just plain over.”
Dropping his chin to his chest, Sheriff Paxton expelled a beleaguered breath. “Well, I guess you’ve won, Ms. Quinn.”
“Who are you kidding, Sherriff? We didn’t win. Fact is, we’re all big losers. We lost that young girl, Devyn Youngwood, and Mr. Sperling too,” Fiona bit out.
He ejected a bitter grunt from deep in his throat, as he opened the door and edged out of the car with his hands in the air. The deputy hastened forward to strip the sheriff of his gun and place handcuffs on his wrists. Detective Landry rushed the cruiser to open the back door and help Fiona out. The deputy pitched the keys to the handcuffs over the roof of the cruiser, and Nathan removed the cuffs from her wrists. Immediately, he enveloped Fiona in his arms, while he whispered into her hair, “Are you okay?”
Hugging her detective tightly, Fiona let out the breath she’d been holding for what seemed like hours. “I am now.” A moment later, she felt a hand caress her shoulder. She turned to find Kate West smiling at her. Fiona swept her into a warm embrace. “Oh, my God, Kate. How can I thank you? I’m not sure how this would have turned out, if you hadn’t bought us so much time.”
Kate chuckled. “Well, be thankful that Tom is very easy to distract.” She stepped away from the embrace. “Look, you take care. Dr. Spears, he’s the vet and my boss, and he’s probably wondering where I am. He may even be panicking. I went to the cafeteria for coffee, and it never takes this long to get coffee. I’ve gotta go.”
Before Kate turned to leave, Detective Landry managed to squeeze her arm gently. “Thanks for everything, Kate. You were a lifesaver.”
Smiling her understanding, Kate trotted away.
Fiona ran her fingers through her hair. “I have to know; how did you get all these state troopers here so quickly?”
He shrugged. “I called the Hancock County Prosecutor this morning and informed him that Paxton was in possession of the gun that was used in Derrek Sperling’s murder. I told him I’d need his assistance in this case. He responded, and they were totally prepared, and when I called to tell them I needed t
hem immediately, he already had the troopers in the lower parking lot waiting for my instructions. It was complete dumb luck that they were in the exact parking lot I needed them to be. The prosecutor will be waiting for us at the precinct when we arrive.”
“Thank God for that.” She let out a beleaguered sigh. “It’s going to be a long night with all the statements we’ll have to give.”
Detective Landry wrapped his arms around her to steady her and comfort her. “I’m afraid so. It may be a good idea for you to take tomorrow off.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re gonna be exhausted.”
“I’ll think about it. By the way, where’s my mother?”
“Good news, I haven’t seen her since we got to the track. She must’ve been betting the ponies.”
Narrowing her eyes, Fiona placed her hand on Nathan’s chest. “Wait…are you telling me that my mother actually did what she said she was going to do? She was betting the ponies, and not interfering in your investigation? C’mon, Nathan, you’ve met my mother. How is that possible?”
Fiona and Nathan heard hooves pounding. They turned and, in the distance, the horses from the first race were charging around the clubhouse turn toward the finish line. They could hear the jockeys’ whistling and yelling at their mounts and the crack of crops against the horses’ hides.
“Mm…they’re planning to arrest Jillian Jewel when she returns to the locker room. Maybe I should get back to the track, right quick,” Nathan said. Whirling around, he called out to several troopers who were climbing into their vehicles. “Hey! Wait for me!”
SIXTEEN
“Here they come around the turn, and they’re three wide,” the announcer’s voice resounded throughout the racetrack. “Barney’s on a Bender leads the pack by a nose, while Malibu Magic makes a brave attempt to keep pace, but Charlatan is answering the call to the crop! He’s pulling away, launching his attack for the winner’s circle by a half-length! Barney’s on a Bender falls to the third-place position. Malibu Magic settles into a comfortable second, and here comes Charlatan! He wins by two lengths, quite convincingly!”
Waving her ticket over her head, Nancy jumped up and down. Brooke had made good on her promise, and she was holding a winning ticket. Now, she was about to do something she’d never done, something she’d never had the opportunity to do, she was going to have her picture taken in the winner’s circle with an actual, real-life Thoroughbred. How exhilarating!
Through the chain-link fence, she could see the horses returning from the race. Brooke was in front of the hoard, aboard Charlatan. Nancy rushed to the gate and down the short pair of stairs to the small winner’s circle where they were quickly setting up Charlatan and a tall lanky man for the winning photograph. She was amazed at how fast it all happened. There was no fuss, no muss, just line up with the horse and get a photograph, it was over before it seemed to happen.
Brooke jumped down from her mount, grabbed her saddle, shook the lanky man’s hand and went inside a tiny building where she was greeted by a man who directed her to step on a large scale.
Nancy turned to see Jillian Jewel jump down from her mount and hand it off to a girl. This was it. Nate wasn’t able to question the little witch, because he didn’t have access to the area. Well, here she was in the perfect position, and this time, she wasn’t going to let the little jockey bully her.
“Jillian!” Nancy yelled.
Jillian turned. Wearing a sneer, she asked, “What happened, Nancy? Why weren’t you riding Charlatan?”
Nancy shrugged. “They decided to let Brooke ride him.”
The announcer’s voice boomed throughout the clubhouse, “The winning horse, Charlatan, had a claim put in for him, but the claim has been rejected. Charlatan will remain under current ownership.”
Jillian’s face flooded with vexation. “What! What is he talking about? They can’t reject a claim.” That was the moment her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped, and she stepped backward at a good clip.
Nancy followed Jillian’s gaze to the end of the throughway that led back to the indoor paddock and the locker room. Several state troopers were searching the group of jockeys, horses, and grooms moving through the corridor.
Jillian spun on her heels to quicken in the opposite direction. She was going to get away via the gate Nancy had come through to get to the winner’s circle moments ago. Oh, no she isn’t! Nancy grabbed the tiny woman by her ponytail to wrench her backward. “Wait, Jillian! I wanted to talk to you about that claiming slip thing. I’m not sure I fully understood what you wanted from me.” The jockey twisted and wrangled, but Nancy managed to pull her down to the ground. Jillian struggled to get to her feet, except Nancy flopped down on top of her to sit on her tummy. “Now, I know I didn’t get to actually ride Charlatan, but I really need you to explain to me why you didn’t want his new owner to win the race.” She dangled her winning ticket in the writhing jockey’s face. “Although, I must say, Brooke did an amazing job. He was in a winning mood after all!”
“Get off of me, you cow!” Jillian shrieked while kicking her legs and coiling her body.
“Now, that’s just not nice. I have been hitting the Cheetos a bit hard lately. Lord knows, it’s been such an emotional week for me, but I don’t think I’ve gained that much,” Nancy said, then she looked up to find Detective Landry surrounded by four of West Virginia’s finest standing over them. “Oh, Nate, you finally showed up. You really need to work on your timing a bit.”
Shooting her a baleful look, he helped Nancy to her feet, then took hold of Jillian Jewel’s arm. “Thank you, Mrs. Quinn. I’ll make a mental note.”
“Good. Carry on…carry on. I’ve got a ticket to cash.”
Letting out a sigh, he handed Jillian over to the troopers. “Boys, read Ms. Jewel her rights, please.”
“Hey! City-detective!” Vic’s voice bellowed over the crowd. “You forget someone?”
Detective Landry and three of the state troopers turned to see Vic Deveaux dragging Fats Tennison who had a black eye toward them. He had the man’s right arm twisted tightly up his back. Fats winced and writhed with each step. “Here’s someone else who needs arrestin’. It took a little convincin’, but he told me all about how he and Jillian owned Charlatan, and yeah, just like I said, that low-life good-fer-nothin’ trainer, Derrek Sperling, sold the horse without their permission. That’s why they had the sheriff kill him. Now, what are ya gonna do about it?” He released his hold on Fats.
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ ‘til my lawyer shows up!” Fats cried out while massaging his arm. “Was he allowed to bounce my face off the counter like that?”
“I didn’t bounce your face off the counter! You fell. Several times,” Vic said. “Is this murder your jurisdiction or not, Landry?”
Detective Landry crossed his arms over his chest. “Thank you for your generous contribution to my investigation, Mr. Deveaux. But I think we would’ve caught up with Mr. Tennison.” He turned to the troopers who were wearing expectant expressions. “Please take Mr. Tennison into custody as well.”
It was exactly three a.m. when Nathan rolled his SUV to a stop in front of Fiona’s house. He paused to take in the lovely sleeping strawberry blond. His Fiona. Her hair was askew, and the mascara on her left eye was a bit smudged, but she was a beautiful sight. A tinge of guilt washed over him. He was feeling a bit badly. He’d kept her out until the wee hours just the night before, and this night had been filled with more danger than he cared for her to be in. He was beginning to think he should keep his cases to himself. Maybe he shouldn’t be so forthcoming with Fiona about what he was working on. Yeah, right, like she’d allow him to keep her in the dark. His weary eyes shifted to the rearview mirror. Nancy’s head was tilted severely to one side, she was down for the count as well, snoring.
Leaning over, he brushed his lips over Fiona’s cheek. Then with a gentle shake of her knee, he whispered, “Hey, we made it. Time to go into the house and get some sleep.”
Stretching her back, Fiona
’s eyes fluttered open. Then the sudden realization of her location kicked in. Her voice was raspy. “Oh…when did we drive home?”
“You and your mom were both sleeping by the time I came out of the police station. I’m just glad they took your statements first. At least the two of you were able to catch a little rest in the car.”
Fiona dragged her fingers through her hair. Even though she was completely exhausted, she managed, “Well…”
“West Hancock County will extradite Paxton to Pittsburgh on Monday. Sure enough, Sheriff Paxton followed Derrek Sperling to West Mifflin and shot him execution style in front of his ex-wife’s home with the gun that had been used in the robbery and shooting in Beaver County. I suppose he thought that would throw suspicion on Gwena Sperling, and it did...somewhat.”
Sitting up straighter, Fiona tipped the visor down to look in the lighted mirror. Wincing, she licked her finger to wipe the smeared mascara. “Jillian wasn’t there when he killed Sperling?”
“Nah, she was playing Blackjack in the casino with her good friend, Romeo Navarro. The dealer and a cocktail waitress corroborated her alibi. Romeo confirmed she was there too, very reluctantly. Can’t say as I blame him. With a friend like Jillian Jewel, he definitely didn’t need any enemies. And yes, Paxton did the deed on behalf of Ms. Jewel, who was mad because, as we and Vic Deveaux suspected, Sperling had indeed sold Charlatan without her knowledge and pocketed the money. And as Mr. West informed us, there was nothing she could do. Well, except have her sheriff boyfriend kill him. Ya gotta admit, not too many girls have that option.”
Fiona snorted. “Lucky her. Okay, who killed Devyn Youngwood? Paxton or Jewel? My money’s been on Jewel from the start.”
“And you would be correct. Devyn knew what Sperling had done, but most likely she wasn’t expecting Paxton to kill him. I guess, she still had faith in a law-abiding sheriff. No one can say for sure, but I still believe she wanted to tell me what she knew that night at the racetrack, but when she got to the stable, Jewel was waiting for her.”