by Lee Hollis
“Bruce, I know Sal has been on you to write something juicy in order to boost sales and clicks, but I think it’s way too premature for you to start pointing fingers.”
Bruce set his computer down on top of the toilet lid and took Hayley’s hand. “Don’t worry, I don’t name names.”
“But you’re not shy about implying who might have done it? I thought you and Ted were becoming good friends.”
“We were. But maybe I never got to know the real Ted Lancaster.” He just gave her a peck on the cheek. “I better get back to work. I want to file this in the morning. I’ll come back to bed soon.”
“Forget it. You’ve been usurped. Good luck kicking Leroy out of your spot.”
Bruce smiled as he picked up his laptop.
Hayley turned to go, but stopped in the doorway. She swiveled around, marched back into the bathroom, and snatched the half-empty pack of cigarettes off the sink counter. She lifted the toilet lid and dumped out the contents before flushing.
Bruce’s smile slowly faded as she returned his peck on the cheek and went back to bed.
Chapter 25
The following afternoon at the drugstore, Hayley read the installation instructions on the back of the box for her Stealth Smoking Enforcement System, which monitors a house automatically and covertly to protect residents from secondhand smoke. She had stopped by on her lunch hour, knowing Bruce was still at the office. The plan was to have the contraption up and working by bedtime in case Bruce decided to sneak back into the bathroom again in the middle of the night for another secret smoke. He would get a nice, loud surprise.
Hayley checked the price to make sure she had enough cash to pay for it, and then walked it up to the register. She spotted Mona standing in line waiting to check out, holding a package of ZzzQuill, a nighttime sleep aid.
“Struggling with a little insomnia, Mona?” Hayley asked.
“My deadbeat husband’s snoring has gotten much worse lately, although I can’t imagine why, he doesn’t do anything all day. He can’t be that tired. I’m hoping this might knock me out and spare me from tossing and turning all night because of all the noise he makes. I swear, if this doesn’t work, my next move is snuffing him out with a pillow over his face! Maybe then I’ll finally have some peace and quiet!”
“I may have to pick some of that stuff up for myself.”
“Is Bruce keeping you awake with his snoring too?”
“No, Leroy. I can’t imagine how that much noise can come out of such a little dog. Bruce is a whole other problem.”
Mona checked out the box Hayley was holding. “I thought he quit.”
“So did I.”
“I’ve seen those advertised on TV. The alarm is like ear-splitting loud.”
“Good because I’m counting on it to scare him straight.”
The customer ahead of Mona finished paying for her items and left carrying a bag. Mona stepped up to the counter with her sleep aid, but turned back toward Hayley. “I’m starving. Once we’re done here, let’s grab some lunch. My treat.”
“Sounds good,” Hayley said, never one to turn down a free meal.
Once they left the drugstore, Mona led Hayley farther down Cottage Street toward the post office, where Cloris Fennow’s truck, Burger She Wrote, was parked out front.
“I know you’re not Cloris’s biggest fan,” Mona said. “But I have a real taste for her Feta Burger.”
Unfortunately, when they walked up to the window, the security gate was locked down and a sign was taped on the outside that read Closed. Back at 2:00 PM.
“Now, why on earth would she close during a lunch hour? This has to be her busiest time of the day!” Mona bellowed.
“Six twelve seventy-five,” Hayley muttered.
“What did you say?” Mona asked with a confused look.
“The lock combination,” Hayley said, circling around to the back of the truck and staring at the padlock. “I just happened to see the numbers when I was here a while back and Cloris was locking up her truck.”
“Oh, you just happened to see it by accident?”
“Yes.”
Mona suddenly appeared nervous. “You’re not thinking of breaking in there, are you?”
“It’s not really breaking in if I know the combination, right?”
“There may not be any forced entry but it’s still a crime, Hayley,” Mona said flatly. “And you know it.”
Hayley sighed and threw her a dismissive look. She wasn’t used to Mona taking the moral high ground. But she just couldn’t resist. She had been so certain Cloris was the one who poisoned Trudy. This was her opportunity to prove it was Cloris and not Ted. And she still had a whole hour to search the truck before Cloris was scheduled to return.
“Mona, go across the street and keep watch in your pickup while I slip inside and take a quick look around,” Hayley said.
“So not only do you want to break in, you want me to be your accomplice?”
“Just call me if you see her coming back,” Hayley said, twirling the wheel on the digital padlock and punching in 6-1-2-7-5. There was a click, and the lock instantly released. Hayley opened the door and hopped up in the back of the truck.
Mona glanced around to make sure no one was watching them. “Just don’t take too long, okay? I still haven’t eaten and you know how grouchy I get when I have low blood sugar.”
“Frankly, I can never tell the difference,” Hayley said.
“Oh, aren’t you the comedian?” Mona said, scowling before hustling across the street as Hayley disappeared inside the truck and closed the door behind her.
Hayley snooped around the small kitchen area, opening a few drawers, checking the cupboards that were stocked with various spices and condiments. She peered inside a mini-fridge packed with about ten pounds of wrapped hamburger meat. There was a small storage closet that she tried to open, but had trouble with, assuming it was locked. But it turned out she just needed to jiggle the handle a little harder and the door finally popped open revealing an apron hanging from a hook, some boxes filled with folders of paperwork, and tucked in the back corner of the top shelf, a liquid bottle of over-the-counter insecticide. Hayley snatched it up and stared at the label. This had to be it. This had to be what Cloris injected into her candy apple that made Trudy so sick. Not wanting to tamper with potential evidence, Hayley pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the ingredients on the back of the bottle in order to compare them with whatever was in the toxicology report.
She was about to leave when her eyes fell upon a familiar-looking gadget on a small counter next to the stove. It was a carbon monoxide detector. And it was right next to one that was already plugged in. In Hayley’s mind, this meant that either Cloris had a backup detector in case the one she was currently using broke, or this was the one from Trudy’s truck, the detector Ted insisted he had bought and installed for Trudy on the day of the Witches Ball. Cloris could have somehow swiped it before fiddling with the propane tank.
All the pieces were suddenly falling into place. It had been Cloris Fennow all along! Cloris was the one who tried poisoning Trudy, and when that effort failed, she decided to silently gas her to death in her own truck, removing anything that might raise an alarm that would alert Trudy before she was overcome by the deadly carbon monoxide!
Hayley’s phone buzzed.
It was Mona.
She quickly answered the call. “Hi, Mona, what’s up?”
“You have to get out of there right now! I just got a call from the high school principal. One of my juvenile delinquents just set off a stink bomb in his chemistry class and I have to go pick him up!”
“That’s fine, Mona. I already found what I’m looking for. I’ll be right out.”
“No, you don’t understand. I got distracted on the phone and didn’t see Cloris coming back!”
“What? Well, where is she? How close—”
Suddenly the back door to the truck swung open and Cloris stared, mouth agape, at Hayley,
who held the bottle of insecticide in one hand and the carbon monoxide detector in the other.
“Cloris, I can explain...”
But Cloris wasn’t about to allow Hayley to explain anything. She slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside. Hayley rushed over and banged on the door. “Cloris, open up! Let me out!”
Before Hayley knew what was happening, she could hear Cloris jumping into the driver’s seat up front and the truck’s engine roaring to life. Then, Cloris hit the gas and the whole truck shot forward. Hayley was thrown about like a rag doll with each sharp turn.
“Cloris, please, stop the truck!” Hayley cried.
She fell against the sink, ducking her head as stainless steel cookware flew from the shelves, crashing to the floor. The cupboard doors banged open and plastic jars of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and relish exploded like grenades as they hit the floor. Hayley tried desperately to make her way toward the front of the truck, but she was separated from Cloris by a wall and small see-through window. She managed to get close enough so that she was able to spot the back of Cloris’s head as she gripped the steering wheel, breaking speed records as she headed out of town.
“Cloris, where are you taking me? Would you please slow down before you kill us both?”
Cloris swerved the truck sharply to the right and Hayley lost her balance, slipping on some yellow mustard and falling to the floor, nearly cracking her head against the grill on her way down.
Outside the truck, she could hear a horn honking. It had to be Mona, who was probably driving her pickup and was now in hot pursuit to rescue Hayley.
Hayley snatched up her phone and called Mona.
“I’m right behind you! Can you hear me?” Mona cried.
More horn honking.
“I can hear you, Mona! She won’t stop! What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to try and pass her once we hit a long stretch of road, and then I can cut her off and force her off the road!”
“What? No, don’t do that! It’s too dangerous! She could hit a tree or something and kill us!”
Mona had either put the phone down or dropped it because she was no longer talking even though the call was still active.
Hayley could make out the sound of a vehicle speeding up alongside the Burger She Wrote truck, the horn blaring, and then, without warning, Cloris hit the brakes, propelling Hayley forward. She rolled around on the floor, drenching herself in ketchup, mayo, mustard, pickles, and relish. She literally felt like a burger with everything on it.
Hayley thought the truck might tip over, but it didn’t, and mercifully it finally came to a screeching halt. In the distance, she could hear the sound of a siren. Hayley sighed with relief, suspecting Mona had called the police.
Up front, she heard the driver’s side door open. She assumed Cloris was making a break for it. But the sirens were getting louder, and Hayley knew Cloris would probably not get very far.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the back door was pried open and Mona gasped at the sight of Hayley completely covered in multicolored condiments.
“Are you all right? Are you bleeding?” Mona cried.
“No, it’s just ketchup. Lots and lots of ketchup.”
Mona held out a hand to help her out of the truck. “You’re just making me hungrier.”
“Where’s Cloris?”
“She made a run for the woods, but Sergio caught her and she’s now handcuffed and in the back of his cruiser.”
Mona stared at Hayley, a little uncomfortable.
“What?” Hayley asked.
“It’s just that I want to give you a ride back to town, but I just had the interior of my truck cleaned.”
“Fine, Mona. I can walk!” Hayley said.
“No, I may have some towels in the back of my truck we can use to wipe you down.”
Mona hurried off and Hayley, who thought she might have a case of motion sickness after such a violent bumpy ride, bent over to catch her breath.
Sergio suddenly appeared when she stood back up, confident she was not going to pass out or vomit.
“Cloris wants to apologize,” Sergio said.
Hayley wanted to scoff, but then realized it might be a good idea to hear what Cloris had to say.
Sergio led Hayley over to the police cruiser where Cloris, her head bowed, sat in the backseat, her hands cuffed behind her back. At the sight of Hayley drenched in her condiments, Cloris almost impulsively laughed out loud, but then thought better of it and adopted a more somber tone.
“Please forgive me, Hayley, I panicked when I saw you in my truck. I didn’t even know where I was going to go. I just started driving and figured I’d come up with some kind of plan on the way.”
“How did you even get inside her truck?” Sergio asked, turning to Hayley.
“That’s not important,” Hayley said quickly, not eager to admit to any illegal activity. She held up the bottle of insecticide. “What’s important is that I found this!”
Sergio scrunched up his face. “What is it?”
“An insecticide, which I am pretty sure is the exact same kind that was injected in the candy apple that Cloris gave Trudy as a peace offering.”
Cloris bowed her head again. “She’s right. That’s exactly what happened.”
“You wanted Trudy out of the way so she couldn’t work the Garbers’ Halloween party and they would be forced to hire you instead at the last minute.”
Cloris nodded, then with sad, defeated eyes, she turned to Sergio. “I only used a little bit. Just enough to make her sick. It was an unforgivable thing for me to do. I was just so worried she was going to put me out of business.”
“But she recovered, and so you tried again,” Hayley said, holding up the carbon monoxide detector. “You sabotaged her propane tank, and then removed this carbon monoxide detector so she would have no idea she was inhaling poisonous gas that would quickly overwhelm her and kill her.”
“What? No, I did no such thing!” Cloris wailed.
“I found this in your truck!”
“I have no idea where that came from! I only knew of the one that’s already plugged into the wall. Someone else must have put that thing in my truck to try and frame me!”
“So you admit you poisoned the apple, but you deny rigging the propane tank?” Sergio asked pointedly.
“Yes! I had nothing to do with that! I didn’t kill Trudy!” Cloris cried.
“I’m still arresting you,” Sergio said angrily.
Hayley pulled Sergio aside, far enough away from the police cruiser so Cloris couldn’t hear them. “Do you believe her?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Sergio whispered.
“Why confess to one crime, but not the other?”
“Because assault is one thing, murder is quite another,” Sergio said grimly. “She could be put away for the rest of her life.”
“So you’re saying you believe—?”
“Yes,” Sergio said, nodding. “I believe Trudy Lancaster was murdered.”
Chapter 26
Hayley stood at her kitchen sink while scrubbing some dirty pots and pans from Gemma’s dinner of roast pork, rosemary potatoes, and a veggie medley. She had offered to clean up if Gemma took Leroy out for his nightly walk. In the living room, she could hear Bruce and Conner sitting in recliners, beers in hand, quietly discussing a topic that had been swiftly avoided at dinner.
“So you’re still waiting for an answer?” Bruce asked.
“Yes,” Conner mumbled.
“What’s your gut feeling?”
“I thought she would have said something by now, but she hasn’t, which leads me to believe there might be an issue...” Conner said, his voice trailing off.
Ever the crack reporter, Bruce was not above prying. “What kind of issue?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she feels I’m rushing things. I didn’t think I was because I love her and the timing feels right, at least to me. If she doesn’t say anything in the next day o
r two, I’m going to give her a little nudge.”
Hayley wanted to run into the living room and warn Conner that the last thing he should be doing is pressuring Gemma, but she was not going to insert herself into this very sensitive situation any further. It was up to Gemma now to decide how she was going to handle this. And if there was one thing she was sure of, her daughter was a calm, thoughtful, reasonable young woman.
Which was why Hayley was so surprised when the back door slammed open and Gemma, wild-eyed, her face a ghostly white, came screaming like a tornado into the kitchen, dragging Leroy by a leash behind her. “Mom! Mom! You just won’t believe it!”
She dropped the leash on the floor and a worked-up Leroy ran to Hayley in a panic, as if he was relieved to be free from Gemma’s balled-up frantic energy.
“Gemma, good Lord, what is it? What’s wrong?”
She stopped, clutched her breast, and tried catching her breath, slowly inhaling and exhaling in order to compose herself. By now, the commotion had drawn Bruce and Conner from the living room and they stood in the kitchen, dumbfounded as to why Gemma was so visibly upset.
“I saw her!” Gemma whispered.
“Who?” Hayley asked.
“Trudy Lancaster.”
The kitchen became quiet except for Gemma’s labored breathing and Leroy’s incessant panting.
Finally, Bruce spoke. “How much wine did you have at dinner?”
Gemma shot him an annoyed look. “I didn’t drink any wine. I’m perfectly sober!”
“Where did you see her?” Hayley gulped.
“We were halfway up Ledgelawn, almost to the Episcopal church, and just up ahead I saw a woman crossing the street. I thought she looked vaguely familiar, but then she passed underneath a streetlamp, and I got a good look at her face, and it was Trudy! I swear it was her!”
“Trudy’s dead, Gemma,” Bruce said tacitly.
“Then it was her ghost!” Gemma cried.
Hayley studied her daughter’s face carefully. Gemma was usually the most sensible and levelheaded person in the room. But right now, she looked genuinely scared, like she had just awakened in her bed to find that creepy evil doll Annabelle rocking in a chair, watching her from across the room.