by Daria White
“What about you?” Bianca asked. “I saw you with a man at the local gift shop in town. He looked pretty friendly with you.”
A tsk escaped Priscilla’s mouth. “You mean Paul? Of course I had my fun. Paul was my fun when I needed it.”
“You had him follow me? Attack me in the park?” Bianca could feel the sweat building on her hairline. This couldn’t be the end. Help was coming.
“You should’ve stopped, but you didn’t.” Priscilla sneered. “No. That was Luis. Paul’s cousin. Thanks to you calling the police, he panicked and abandoned the car. So, I had Paul rent one like Judy’s. I had her under my thumb, since I was paying her money to keep their business going. She had no idea what was happening. I even had Paul take Richard’s golf club for good measure that last time we played together. I never liked him anyway.”
Was everyone blackmailing each other? “Nicole’s bracelet?”
“I took it after Jordan left it on the table. She was to bubble-headed to notice. I needed everything I could to shift blame to that gold digging Nicole.” The tightness around Priscilla’s eyes increased.
“Why kill your husband?” Bianca had to buy time.
“It was almost perfect.” Priscilla eyed her right-hand glove, as if Bianca’s question didn’t matter. “I thought I washed all the blood away from my hands that day. I even burned the old ones and put on another pair. Paul dragged Martin’s body to the limo and sat him up. The driver was inside during the reception, so he didn’t see anything. He’d given me the keys since I told him I had a last-minute present for the happy couple.”
Bianca gulped down a breath to stay quiet. That must have been when she planted the bracelet under the limo.
Priscilla shook her head as she continued. “I figured Martin would come to his senses about us. Most men go through a midlife crisis. Some act irrationally. They do things on impulse with no regard to whom it affects.” Her grimace lingered. “You know how that feels. Don’t you, Bianca? You know what it’s like to have someone you trust and love leave you for someone else.”
A pang stung Bianca’s chest. Malcom walking out on her came flooding back to mind. Her high school sweetheart. The love of her life. Yet another woman had turned his heart away. Malcom had left, leaving her to raise their daughter alone. He had found happiness with a younger woman.
How many nights had she spent crying? People had asked her, “What went wrong?” The pain in Alyssa’s eyes had torn at her soul. Their family had never been the same.
“See,” Priscilla said. “You understand.” Her creepy tone made Bianca shiver.
Bianca blinked. A hurt woman stood in front of her. Betrayed. Scorned even, but to take someone else’s life? Bianca would never stoop to such a violent act. “No. You’re wrong, Priscilla.” She squared her shoulders. “That didn’t give you the right—”
“He was going to leave me!” she shouted. A tear ran down her cheek. “Don’t you understand? Martin had to die.” Her chest heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry, Bianca. Now that you know, I can’t—”
Bark, bark, bark, bark.
Priscilla’s head jerk at the noise. Taking her eyes off Bianca for a moment, Bianca shifted out of the line of fire and grabbed at the gun.
“NO!” Priscilla yelled.
Bianca kept her grip on her wrist while her other hand wrestled to take the gun away. A deafening crack of thunder filled the room. Priscilla shot at the table lamp, the coffee table, and the wall. Bianca stayed clear of the bullets. Someone had to have called the police by now in her neighborhood.
She then slammed her foot into Priscilla’s. Hard. A yelp escaped the woman’s throat, and Bianca snatched the gun from her grasp.
Bark, bark! Bianca pointed the gun at Priscilla, who hunched over, clasping her foot.
“Bianca!” Melanie shouted. Casper continued to bark as he ran into the living room. Melanie had a bat in her hand.
Adrenaline rushed through Bianca’s body. When pounding and kicking sounded at the front door, both she and her sister screamed at the sudden noise. Sounded like someone was breaking it down.
“Police! Open up!”
Melanie hurried to open it. Police officers rushed in past her sister and flooded into Bianca’s living room.
“Freeze!” Detective Sims pointed his gun at Priscilla, still moaning over her foot.
Bianca put the handgun down on her couch. She raised her hands in the air and gestured at Priscilla. “There’s your murderer.”
Detective Sims motioned with his hand and the arresting officers with him handcuffed Priscilla.
Chapter 30
Wrapping her arms around herself, Bianca sat on her porch. Melanie held Casper in one hand, while she talked to their mother on the phone. Colorful lights flashed, murmurs from police officers filled her ears, but when she spotted Priscilla sitting in the back of the police, she breathed easier.
Who would have thought? Priscilla had killed her own husband. The woman had pointed a gun in her face. Bianca’s thoughts scrambled. What would have happened if Casper hadn’t barked or Melanie wasn’t in her office to call the police? What if Detective Sims hadn’t shown?
Bianca looked over at Casper, who’d settled comfortably in her sister’s arms. Bianca sighed.
“I still can’t believe it.” Melanie shook her head. “Priscilla capable of… murder.”
“Me, neither.”
Melanie rested her head on her sister’s shoulder. “I’m glad that’s over.”
“Me too.”
Casper barked.
Bianca smiled and opened her hands and he came to her. “I guess you came in handy tonight.”
“He sure did,” Melanie said.
“Ladies.” Detective Sims walked in front of them. “We doing okay?”
Melanie bobbed her head.
“I think so,” Bianca said.
“Well, we got a full confession.” He gestured behind him.
Bianca spotted Priscilla’s head bowed, as if she were crying. “The Queen of Tears.”
“What?” Melanie and Detective Sims said together.
“There’s a newspaper clipping in her hallway at her house from her Broadway days. They called her the “Queen of Tears” and the… Bette Davis of the stage.” No wonder Jordan had said it when she’d visited him in the hospital.
Detective Sims made a note on his notepad. “Anything else?”
Bianca tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “She said she gave her Broadway career up for Martin, but when she found out about Nicole, it humiliated her that he wanted to leave.”
He bobbed his head.
“A woman scorned,” Melanie said.
“Bingo.” Then Bianca reached into her jacket pocket and handed Detective Sims a folded picture she’d just printed. “Here.”
He took it and unfolded it. “This is a picture from the wedding reception. What about it?”
Bianca leaned in and pointed to Priscilla in the corner. “I took this. With Priscilla’s heart condition, her medication can’t be mixed with alcohol. I looked it up, so I think she faked her spell at the wedding reception. What tipped me off was her gloves. I saw the stain and took a picture. That’s what I had Melanie send you. I wasn’t completely sure.”
He gave a faint smile. “Thank you for that and the voice recording you sent.”
“Recording?” Bianca’s eyebrows raised.
“I figured it wouldn’t hurt recording the conversation on my phone, although I had to keep this guy quiet.” She held Casper close and rubbed his head.
“You’re a genius,” Bianca said to her sister.
Melanie winked at her. “I’m… going to wait for you inside.” Then she took Casper with her and left Bianca alone outside with Detective Sims.
He sat next to her. “Are you okay? Really?”
“I think I’ll get over having a gun pointed to my face.” She faced him. “I see what you meant though. I didn’t mean to—”
He shook his head. “Let’s forget that.
I will admit, you helped us close a case. Just try not to make it a habit. Okay?”
She didn’t answer.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about doing this again?” he asked.
She opened her hands, palms facing upward. “I was in the right place at the right time. I didn’t plan on figuring this out.”
He raised an eyebrow.
She giggled. “I even thought of consulting with the police department.”
He rubbed at his forehead. “Ms. Wallace…”
“I said thought, don’t worry.” She ran her hands down her pant legs. “Do you need anything else from me? I think I’ve told you everything I know.”
“If I have more questions, I’ll call you.” He stared at her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thank you for being here. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Good thing we’ve been monitoring your house.” His gray eyes gleamed with a smile. “Well, you don’t have to worry anymore. It’s over.” He stood to his feet. “Goodnight, Ms. Wallace.”
She followed, standing to her feet. “Goodnight, detective.” Bianca didn’t turn around for another look at him as she walked back inside her home, closing the door behind her. She exhaled, leaning against the door.
“We’re good?” Melanie asked. Casper was licking up water from his bowl.
“I think so. Priscilla is going to jail. Paul too for being an accomplice, along with attacking Jordan. I already identified Luis from the park and the car chase, so I’m sure it won’t take the police long adding the additional charges.” Bianca rubbed at her arms. “How bad is the damage?”
Melanie perused the living room and back at her sister. “Nothing we can’t replace.” She inched in closer and hugged her. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was scared.”
Bianca patted her Melanie’s back. “Me too.”
“So?” Her sister pulled away from their embrace, eyeing her closely.
Bianca’s eyebrows raised. “So… what?”
“What was that with Detective Sims outside?” Melanie grinned.
“I just told him what I knew. Case closed. Right now, I want to soak in a hot bath, and get some much needed sleep. Can I do that?”
Melanie bobbed her head. “If you say so.” She turned on her heels, and headed down the hallway.
Bianca waited until she was out of site to peek outside the window. Detective Sims hadn’t left yet. He was talking with Detective Atkins. With his arms folded, she couldn’t deny the tingle in her fingers. Then when he turned and locked his gray eyes with hers, her body shivered again, but not out of fear. This time… pleasure.
A slow smile built on his face. Bianca blinked, coming back to reality. Closing the curtain she backed away. Sleep. She needed sleep.
Epilogue
Mocha Frappuccino. Just what Bianca needed. Almost three weeks since Priscilla’s arrest, and things slowly felt back to normal in Edenville. While Jordan still needed time to recover, she was grateful he’d survived the blow to his head. Chad and Nicole had left for their honeymoon, determined not to let his mother’s antics break up their marriage.
Bianca paced herself through the park, with Casper trotting ahead of her. She didn’t have to worry about looking over her shoulder anymore since the police had arrested Priscilla’s accomplices, Paul and Luis. Both men she’d hired as body guards before retiring from the theater. They’d stolen Judy’s car with Luis driving, with Paul ready to pick him up after abandoning it on the road, because of Bianca calling the police right away.
Chasing Bianca’s car had been only to scare her, along with Luis following her home in the car he’d rented before attempting to skip town. The original plan had been to keep Judy’s car longer prior to returning it. Stealing her car had been a scare tactic on her too, on top of the blackmail. Thank goodness Judy had only been guilty of taking money from Priscilla and nothing more.
How had Jordan known the truth? He didn’t at first, but like Bianca, he’d asked too many questions. Turned out Priscilla’s hysterics at the memorial service were all an act since she noticed Detective Sims had showed up. Making him suspicious of someone else kept her that much more in the clear, on top of everything else in her plan. Jordan visited Priscilla’s home to make an amends after the memorial. Then he noticed she had recently used her fireplace and saw an unusual residue of material inside the firebox.
Pieces of her bloody silk gloves from the wedding. Priscilla caught on to him and had Paul follow Jordan, only to have Paul attack him with the golf club she’d taken from Richard after visiting him weeks prior. That got Jordan out of the way for a while.
Priscilla had had the bracelet all along, lying about leaving it on the table for Nicole. She even made up the story of leaving the door open. An actress worth believing. With the same knife set as Richard, it hadn’t taken long for her to switch them so she could kill Martin. Since Nicole’s prints remained on it from slicing the ham at her bridal shower, it’d been perfect. As far as a witness pointing blame to Nicole, it turned out Nicole stepped away to get some air in the hallway.
Bianca sat on a park bench, relishing in her drink. The worst was over. She stared through the gazebo, taking in the tranquil moment. It was the most peace she’d experienced in a long time. Birds chirped and squirrels leapt from tree to tree.
“I keep forgetting this is a small town.”
Bianca turned in her seat to see Detective Sims. She swallowed the last of her coffee and tossed it in the trash bin beside her. “You’ll get used to it. Taking the day off?”
“Just getting some air before I head to the station.” His eyes scanned the park. “This is one of my favorite places.”
She smiled.
Then he stooped and petted Casper.
“Think you’ll get a dog?” she asked.
“Not sure. My schedule’s unpredictable.” Then he straightened and locked eyes with her. “Maybe one day.”
“When you do…” Her eyes drifted to her dog. “You’ll have a hard time letting them go.”
“Is that so?” His eyes beamed.
“It’s a fact,” she said, followed by a giggle.
“Thank you for the tip.” He folded his arms. “Will you ever stop giving me tips?”
“Only when it’s called for.” She stood. The wind picked up, and she caught a whiff of his manly scent. Not woodsy cologne this time. This scent was fresh. Crisp.
An almost electrical feeling passed through her when she met his gray eyes again. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. “I think I’ve… I need to get to work.”
“How’s business?” he asked.
“Booming, so I’m glad. I even found a virtual assistant last weekend. I’m… sure I’ll see you again.” She backed away a few spaces from him.
He grinned.
“What?” she asked.
“I was thinking of when your heel…” He chuckled.
She pointed to him. “Don’t you dare hold that against me?”
He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “Your secret is safe with me. I don’t think anyone else noticed.”
“I would have heard around town if they had.”
He touched a hand to his chest. “So you know you can trust me.”
She tilted her head to the side. “The jury’s still out on that.” Bianca took another step back with Casper by her side. “Have a good one, detective.”
“You too, Bianca.” He smiled and then turned his back to walk away.
Bianca. He had called her by her name. An overwhelming tingling went through her core, as she watched Detective Sims leave. Despite the breeze, she fanned herself as she walked to her car with Casper…
To be continued in Killer Runway (A Bianca Wallace Mystery, 2)
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Thank you for taking the time to read my book! If you enjoyed Photo Bombed, please leave a review at any of your favorite retailers.
Best Regards,
Daria
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