“Grab a handful of that carpet where the chair should’ve been,” I said.
Jimmy knelt and did so. Amazingly, a hunk of carpet about three by three came up in his hand. Underneath, the floorboards were cut in the same cubed shape.
“You did it!” Ike whooped and knelt down with Jimmy to lift the hatch. Below us, a built-in ladder descended.
Jimmy shined his flashlight into the darkness. “Found the missing chair.”
I peered over the edge. The back of the small chair rested under the door handle. “How’s that possible? If Deena’s inside, someone locked her in there.”
“I can think of one person who wanted us to find Deena,” Ike said.
“I don’t trust Helen,” I muttered, but no one was listening. Ike climbed down the ladder and moved the chair. Jimmy and Alice Ann kept their flashlights trained on the area.
“We know you’re in here, Deena,” Ike said. “Show yourself and let me see your hands.”
The latch snicked, and the door opened. A strong sewage odor wafted up to where I stood in the room. Deena stood in the gap, bedraggled and dirty.
“Water,” she said.
Ike stepped to the side of the short tunnel. “Come up nice and slow. The deputies up top will assist you.”
Deena crawled up the ladder, pale and droopy. She collapsed on the floor. Ike came up after her, checked her for weapons, and cuffed her hands in front of her. She didn’t protest, wouldn’t look at any of us. Alice Ann brought water and helped her bring it to her mouth. When she tried to down the whole thing, Alice Ann said, “A little at a time or it will come back up.”
“Damn him. Sonny said he’d connect the plumbing down there, but he didn’t. Only one twelve-pack of water down there. I could’ve died in that hellhole.”
“Hold that thought,” Ike said. “We’ll get your statement at the Sheriff’s Office.”
“I won’t talk unless Lindsey’s there. I watched you through the vent cam. If not for her, I’d still be trapped below.”
“I’m calling the shots,” Ike said, “but I’m happy to have Lindsey sit in on the interview.” He nodded to Alice Ann and Jimmy. “Transport her in your car. Lindsey and I will follow.”
~*~
“What shall we call you?” I asked after sitting down beside Ike in the interview room. “Peggy Lou Gray or Deena Mowrey?”
The woman shrugged. Gone was the beach bunny look she’d sported before. Her pink hair hung in clumps. She seemed smaller, more hunched over after spending four days locked in the bolt hole. Her fingers and toes were bare, and she’d been processed and Mirandized. “Call me whatever you like.”
“Okay then, Deena. You defrauded an insurance company. According to our confidential source, you killed the bartender and nearly killed me. What’s your story?”
“I was framed. I’m innocent.”
“You know how many people sit in that chair and say that?” Ike asked.
“No, you don’t understand,” Deena insisted. “I didn’t shoot anyone. Helen is the crack shot, not me.”
I glanced at Ike and back to Deena. I’d planned to gloat when the bars locked behind Deena. Now I wasn’t so sure it would play out that way. Had we been conned by these women? “That’s not what we heard.”
“It’s the truth. Helen and Sonny, I mean Lowell, were into that survivalist mindset. Sonny built the safe room in our house. I was glad to have a hideout, especially during the search, but then I got trapped inside. Helen snuck in my house, jammed the lock, and trapped me.”
“Go on.”
“John Starling said Helen paid him to spy on us. He was Helen’s boyfriend in Mobile, but he became my boyfriend a few weeks ago.”
“You’re a married woman.”
“We only pretended to be married this time around. No biggee. Sonny and I have an open relationship.”
“What does that mean?”
“We slept around, or at least I did. I don’t know who Sonny slept with. Didn’t care.”
“Supposing for one second you’re right, how do we catch Helen?”
“You won’t. She took that survivalist BS seriously.”
“I have Helen under surveillance,” Ike said.
“Check again. She’s long gone.”
Ike took my arm and we rose. “We’ll see about that.”
In the hall, he hugged me. “Good work. Sure you don’t want to be a cop?”
“I’m sure.”
He phoned his deputy on Helen’s stakeout. “She’s still at the restaurant?” Ike asked. “Check inside.”
I used the restroom and grabbed a soda while we waited for a return call. My arm didn’t hurt at all.
Ike answered his cell on the first ring. His face darkened as he listened. “Impound the car and check the motels and other restaurants.”
He hung up and faced me, his shoulders bent. “She’s gone. I thought I had her.”
My empty stomach wasn’t happy with this news. “Someone’s been a step ahead of us this whole time. What if Deena’s right? Helen could be thinking circles around us.”
“Not on my watch.” Ike ordered road blocks on the roads out of town before he glanced my way again. “Ready to talk to Deena again?”
“Not yet. Who do you believe?”
“None of ’em. Deena, Sonny, and Helen are liars.”
“One of them is a killer,” I said. “The others are lying, for sure, but how do we sift through the lies?”
“Interrogation 101. We keep them talking until their story cracks.”
“I may not be up for that.”
“Until Helen is under lock and key, you won’t be alone, and I can’t spare anyone right now to guard you. If you get tired while we’re questioning Deena, come in here and rest.”
I didn’t much like it, but I understood. “Okay.”
We opened the door and found Deena asleep face forward on the table. “Wake up,” Ike said in a stern voice.
Deena pushed up from the table. “I was right, wasn’t I?”
“How’d you know what Helen would do?” I asked.
“She’s a planner. Not a spontaneous bone in her body. Way back in the beginning when we first met Helen, she saw how easy I had it being married to Sonny. At one time I thought I could contribute financially to our marriage by being a foster parent, but Sonny said I didn’t have to work. Helen saw he was a good provider, and she wanted him. She wrecked our lives one step at a time. I was so mad when I found out that I went crazy breaking dishes.”
Helen had mentioned the same thing about the dishes. Either it was true or they were in this together. “How’d she give the officer the slip?”
“She could’ve had a disguise planted there and walked out. She could’ve hired or stolen a boat. Helen is very good with details, like the lock on our safe room door. She knew how to defeat it. But she doesn’t know everything.”
“I’m all ears. Please continue.”
“I figured out how to get Sonny back. He didn’t like being bossed around, and that’s all she ever did was boss people around. I told him if he faked his death, he’d never see her again.”
“But she found you. How?”
“One of Helen’s friends recognized Sonny at a convenience store out by the interstate where he went to get a six-pack. Marge called Helen on the spot. According to John, Helen made several trips here to see him before she framed me.”
“Does Marge have a last name?”
“Marge Nash.”
“We’ll check with Marge, but you were in possession of a rifle that uses the same ammo that killed John and wounded me.”
Deena’s cuffed hands waved in the air. “I didn’t shoot anyone. Helen did.”
“Are your prints on the rifle?” Ike asked.
Deena groaned. “Yes. I hefted it on my shoulder as soon as I saw it.”
“How’d that happen?” I asked.
“Helen tricked me. She left an anonymous tip on my phone to check the trunk of my car for a gift from a
secret admirer. I couldn’t resist picking up the rifle.”
“That fingerprint evidence will send you to prison.”
“That’s why you have to do something. Helen planned everything. And there’s more.”
Ike and I waited in silence.
Deena’s eyes brimmed with tears. Her lips quivered. “That bitch stole my money.”
~*~
“We have a solid case against Deena,” Ike said with some heat. We’d questioned Deena until Ike and I were fried. Deena had gone into a cell and we’d retreated to Ike’s office for ham sandwiches, courtesy of Alice Ann.
“She’s lying, but her story could be true,” I asserted. “Deena sounded pissed about the missing money.”
Ike laughed. “That was the only thing I believed coming out of her mouth.”
I allowed the silence to settle around us before I spoke. “What about Marge Nash?”
“The Mobile cops will question her, and I’ll call the gun club back and ask about Helen’s shooting ability.”
“You could ask Sonny to tell you the truth.”
Ike nodded. “Thought of that one myself. Wait here while I get the other inquiries going and move Sonny.”
Absently, I touched my temple with my good hand. “Sure.”
“Is this too much for you?” Ike asked.
“I’m fine. Just habit to rub there.” I paced the office until he returned. This was a love triangle gone wrong, that much was certain.
When I entered the interview room with Ike, Sonny’s head reared back. “Hell. I was right. The bitch is here.”
Ike slid into the chair beside me. “Who’s here?”
His gaze went from my face to my sling and back to Ike. “Sorry about your girlfriend.” Sonny hung his head. “You can’t force me go back to her.”
“Tell us about your wife,” I said.
“She’s a cancer,” Sonny muttered.
“Who?” Ike prompted.
“Helen.” Sonny sounded rattlesnake mean. “I hate her.”
“Helen’s your legal wife, not Deena,” Ike said.
“Deena may be an alley cat, but she’s devoted to me. Helen thought she owned me. When I realized my mistake, I told Helen I wanted a divorce. She said she’d kill me and Deena if I left her. Faking my death was the only way to get away from her, but she found us anyway.”
“Have any proof?” Ike continued.
Since Sonny was talking just fine, I focused on listening. Sometimes you could tell as much from what a person didn’t say.
“Yeah, that bartender guy, Starling. Deena got him to open up to her. Helen paid him to move here and spy on us, but he felt bad about it. He said he’d go to the cops with me, if I wanted. That’s why we were pretending to be hunting. To think of a plan. But Helen shot him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“Because I’m safer in here, and once you figured out our identities, Deena would be safe in jail too. That was my plan.”
“Your plan worked. You and Deena are in jail.”
“And Helen’s out there laughing her head off. She got her revenge. I bet she even sicced Ray Ray on you. He drove over here from Mobile and raised sand, right?”
“He did.”
“Helen can move mountains, whether they want to move or not.”
“Ray also told us about a woman named Louise that John was friendly with.” Ike fixed him with a pointed glance. “You know who that is?”
Sonny’s face flamed. “Deena’s real name is Peggy Louise, Peggy Lou for short, but her mom called her Louise. Deena must’ve been messing with John to use that name with him.”
“Did either of you know John when you lived in Alabama?”
“Nope. We met him here, at the bar, because Helen sent him here to spy on us.”
We cycled through the questions twice more, but Sonny’s story tracked every time. Ike had me wait in his office again while he moved the prisoner back to his cell.
“Well?” I asked when he returned. “You believe him?”
“Maybe, but we need proof.”
“What about the other information you were checking out?”
“Let me access my messages.” He checked voicemail first. “Gun club called. Helen was the crack shot, not Peggy Lou. According to the gun club, the instructor was disappointed in Peggy Lou’s performance. Helen was accurate and precise.”
The information energized me. “She could’ve framed Deena, Ike. Helen could be our shooter. Deena had no reason to shoot the bartender. Whereas, if the bartender crossed Helen, she would’ve had a motive.”
“All we’ve got is conjecture.”
Bailey disliked Helen on sight. My dog had good instincts. “What about Helen’s friend Marge?”
Ike scanned his emails again. “She told Mobile deputies she’d passed through Danville around Valentine’s Day. She didn’t admit to recognizing anyone.”
Helen’s friend had been here. That was a fact. “What if Helen took both shots? After she shot me, she could’ve tipped Deena off, knowing she’d hide in the secret room. Helen waited until shift change and snuck inside Deena’s place to plant the weapon and lock Deena in the bolt hole. That explains everything. If Helen’s the mastermind behind this, and I believe she is, the pieces fall into place.”
“You’re brilliant. I’ll put out an APB on Helen as a person of interest in our homicide. I wish I had a current photo of her. Nobody ever looks like their driver’s license picture.”
I dug through my purse for my phone, paged through a few screens, and flashed an image at Ike. “How’d you get that?” he asked.
I grinned for all I was worth. “While I was setting up my phone to record our chat this morning. Thought it would be good to have a picture of Helen for the paper.”
“Send it to me. I’ll put this photo in everyone’s hands from here to Mobile. Helen Gray is a person of interest in a homicide. She’s armed and dangerous.”
“Now what?”
“Now we let the long arm of justice do its job.”
“I don’t want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. We need to find Helen.”
“We’ll get her tonight.”
Chapter 17
Ike arranged for Alice Ann and Trent to stay at his mother’s place overnight. Trent was excited about going to grandma’s, Alice Ann less excited about keeping watch all night.
“What makes you think Helen will come tonight?” I asked as we got ready for bed. After today’s roller coaster highs and lows, I could sleep for a week. My arm throbbed, but I didn’t care. Catching Helen trumped taking a pain pill.
“Both Deena and Helen identified you as being smart. Helen’s scheme is falling apart. We’ve got Sonny and Deena, and Helen is stuck in the county. She would’ve gone to ground as soon as she left the fish camp restaurant.”
“You’re paying a ton of overtime to keep those roadblocks staffed overnight.”
“We can afford it. Applying pressure is something I understand well. Helen won’t get away. My gut tells me she’ll come tonight.”
“We should’ve kept Bailey here for an early warning system.”
“Trent needs Bailey. She won’t let anyone sneak into my Mom’s. I won’t let anyone get to us. Now lay down and leave room for me. You hog the bed.”
“I do not, Ike Harper, and you have some nerve calling me out when you steal all the covers.”
“That’s so you’ll turn to me for warmth.” He tapped his temple with a finger. “See? I’m smart, too. Like a fox.”
“Lucky me. I’ve got a thing for foxes.” I snuggled close, drowsing in the heat and comfort of his arms. The line from a hymn flitted through my head: I once was lost but now I’m found. And what I’d found was pretty darn amazing.
~*~
“Lindsey, hon, wake up,” Ike whispered in my ear.
“What?” I spiraled out of a deep sleep to find him vibrating with urgency.
“Someone’s in the house.”
&nb
sp; “You sure?”
“Certain. Remember the plan?”
“I got it.” Pure adrenaline sluiced through my veins. The plan. While Ike went downstairs to neutralize the threat, I was supposed to hide in our bathroom. I touched his chest to make sure he wore his bulletproof vest. It was there.
I padded to the bathroom as requested. Once he left, I made a new plan and grabbed the aluminum bat from under our bed. I tiptoed down the hall to the moonlit stairs. Slowly, I descended to the ground floor, avoiding the steps that creaked.
I snuck behind Ike’s recliner, crouched, and listened.
Suddenly I saw a flash of light in the kitchen, heard a startling kapow, and smelled sulfur. I ducked as recognition clicked. That was a gun! A thud followed. Someone got hit.
Please let Ike be safe.
If Ike shot the intruder, he’d have given the all-clear whistle. No whistle sounded. Which meant things were not good. My breath seemed air-hose loud. I tried to think positive. It didn’t work.
Helen shot Ike.
He’d gone down.
Panic curled around my thoughts. I felt sick to my stomach. Ike had to be all right. He’d worn the vest.
But it was dark in the kitchen.
She could’ve shot him in the arm or the head.
I stuffed a fist in my mouth to hold the anguish inside. I had to be strong, for both of us. If I didn’t stop Helen, she’d get away with multiple murders.
She will kill you if you don’t stop her.
A bat was no match for a handgun. Ike’s gun safe was in our bedroom closet, upstairs, not that I knew how to shoot any of them. The only thing I had going for me was the element of surprise. She didn’t expect me to be downstairs.
I had one chance to best her. One chance to knock her down with the bat. She was in my home, on my turf. Home field advantage counted for a lot in sports and during a home invasion.
A tiny beam pierced the darkness. Helen must have a flashlight. She’d quickly discover the bedrooms were upstairs. Blood rushed in my ears. Seconds dragged like hours.
The light neared. She’d turn for the steps, that’s when I’d move. My ears hurt from listening so hard. Finally, I heard a rustle of fabric. The floorboard near the steps creaked. A sharp intake of breath sounded. The light winked out.
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