Deep In Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “Try it out,” he said.

  I sat down beside Savannah and clapped my hands. “This is great you guys. It’s perfect, and for all your hard work, I bought some chocolate donuts.”

  “Sweet,” Josh said. “I’ll bring them out.” He rushed inside.

  “Don’t forget the milk,” Savannah called.

  “You could go help,” I suggested. She frowned, but got up and left Chris and me alone. I grabbed his arm and pulled him down beside me, hugging him tightly. “I don’t think we have to worry about Sean anymore.”

  Chris caught his breath and pulled away, catching my gaze. “Why is that?”

  “Um…well…I don’t know for sure, but I think Ramos might have something to do with it.” Chris raised his brows. “Anyways…could we get me a new phone today? Mine’s busted and unless you want to give me yours, I could certainly use a new one.”

  “Are you going to tell me what Ramos did?” he asked.

  “Nope,” I answered. “But only because I don’t know, and if you want to know the truth…I don’t think I want to know.”

  “All right,” he said. “So he’s really out of the picture?”

  “Uh-huh,” I said.

  A wall of relief rolled over Chris, and he let out a breath, thinking this was one of those times he was grateful and relieved I knew Ramos.

  “Wow…I never thought I’d hear you thinking that.”

  “Shelby…”

  “Well, you have to admit it’s pretty crazy that you’re thinking you’re actually grateful that I know a hit-man…whoa! What are you doing?” In a quick move, Chris grabbed me around the waist and started tickling me. “Okay…okay,” I laughed. “That’s enough.” He wouldn’t stop, so I grabbed a pillow and began hitting him in the face. We wrestled and laughed, but quickly pulled apart when the kids came out with the milk and donuts.

  “Yay…treats!” I said, hoping to shift the focus to the donuts instead of what Chris and I were doing.

  Of course the kids noticed, but they took it in stride. Chris chuckled, and quickly stood to get the chairs situated around the table. We took our places and dove in. With my first bite of chocolaty goodness, the stress of the last few days melted away.

  I glanced around the table and my heart swelled. I was alive and here with the people I loved most in the world. Even better, my mouth was filled with the flavor of pure decadence. Chris’ gaze let me know he adored me, even if I was sometimes a pain in the butt, and I sighed with happiness just to be alive to enjoy it.

  Chapter 14

  The next morning I got a phone call from Dimples. “Hi Shelby, I’ve got some good news.”

  “Great. What?”

  “We found Sean.”

  I gasped. “Really? Where?”

  “Well, that’s the interesting part. A janitor found him this morning in his office at Marketing Solutions. He’s dead and it looks like suicide, but aside from that, he left a signed confession. He wrote down five names and admitted to killing them all. Four of them are the cases you were looking at. The other one is from a long time ago. We looked her up and it turns out she went to high school with him, and she’s been missing from clear back then.”

  “Was she his girlfriend or something?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m hoping his brother might be able to help us sort it out. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

  “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

  “Sure,” he said. I heard him take a breath and let it out. “There’s just one thing that’s been bothering me. I’m a little puzzled that he left a note naming his victims before he committed suicide. Usually suicide is the last thing a serial killer will do. They normally think they’re too smart to get caught.”

  “Oh…really? Well, maybe his conscience got the best of him.”

  “Hmm…maybe, but usually people like that don’t have much of a conscience, so I’m thinking it might be something else.”

  “Like what?” I asked, my stomach tensing with sudden nervousness.

  “Well…I guess we’ll never know, since he’s dead.” Was he thinking Ramos had something to do with this? “Anyway,” he continued, “I can’t complain…with his confession it certainly wraps up this case, and I can’t be sorry the guy’s dead either.”

  “You’re right about that,” I agreed to reassure him. “But if it makes you feel any better…I think Sean knew he was going to get caught, so he probably killed himself because he’s a control freak and wanted things to happen on his own terms, rather than yours. I also think that confessing to his crimes and giving you their names was because of his pride. I mean…just think about it…when he talked to me, he called the women in the attic his ‘trophies,’ so claiming them makes sense in a sick sort of way.”

  “Hmm…I guess when you put it that way it makes sense,” Dimples agreed.

  “Have you told the families yet?”

  “No, but we’ll probably contact them today.”

  “I want to tell Tiffany Shaw,” I said. “She’s the reason I got involved with this whole thing in the first place.”

  “Sure,” he agreed. “Without you we never would have solved it.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see if I can meet with her today.”

  “Good idea. The media’s been hounding us all day for news about the fire. Once they get wind of this, we’ll have to release a statement.”

  “By media, do you mean Billie?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “That’s right. In fact, she’s waiting just outside to talk to me.”

  “If it will help, tell her once I’ve had a chance to talk to my client, I’d be glad to give her an exclusive interview.”

  “Of course that would help,” Dimples snorted. “But are you sure you want to do that? She can be a real pain in…”

  “You mean she’s tenacious?” I interrupted.

  “Yeah…that’s a good word for her…it’s better than what I was thinking.”

  “I can imagine,” I said with a laugh. We said our goodbyes and disconnected.

  I took a minute to collect my thoughts. I knew Ramos had something to do with Sean’s death, and it boggled my mind to think he had gotten a signed confession out of him. I also had to believe Dimples knew what he was talking about, especially the part about serial killers not having much of a conscience. So how did Ramos manage it? Was it really suicide? Probably not, but did I even want to know? Nope. Not ever. Still, it made me realize that as well as I knew Ramos, there was a lot about him I didn’t know.

  I found Tiffany’s number and gave her a call. I told her I had news about her mother and wanted to meet with her.

  “So you know where she is?” she asked.

  “In a way…yes, but I’m afraid it’s not good news. I’d like to tell you what happened to her, and I’d like to meet with you today. Will that work?”

  “Oh…okay.” There was silence on her end while that sank in. Then she took a breath and spoke. “How about we meet at the same place we met the first time…near the library. I can be there in half an hour.”

  “Sounds good.”

  ***

  I got to our spot on campus only a few minutes late, but Tiffany was already there. With her blond hair so much like mine blowing in the wind, I felt a bond with her that hadn’t been there before. I hated to give her bad news, but it had to be better than thinking her mother had deserted her. She caught sight of me and smiled, waving me over with surprising resilience.

  I picked up that while she was disappointed after talking to me, she wasn’t afraid to know the truth. It was the reason she’d hired me, and she wanted to know what had happened. I smiled and sat beside her, grateful to know she could handle what I had to say.

  “My mother’s dead isn’t she?” she asked.

  “Yes. She never would have left you otherwise.” I began my story, deciding to tell her everything, including how I’d felt Darcy’s presence in the dead files room, and in the
plaza where she’d worked, pointing me toward Marketing Solutions. “It was there that I found her killer, and since I had blond hair and blue eyes like her, he turned his focus on me.”

  Tiffany’s eyes rounded with shock. “You mean he came after you?”

  “Yes.” I explained his link to my daughter’s school as a substitute teacher and how I thought that may have been how he found his victims. “I don’t know for sure, but it seems right.”

  She was mortified to think he had been one of her substitute teachers and that’s how he’d lured her mother away, but shook it off and asked me to continue. I told her about Geoff Parker and his investigation when Darcy first disappeared, then sped forward to his part in helping me track Sean down to the house he’d used to kill them.

  “We decided to look for evidence, but it kind of backfired, since Sean recognized Geoff and came back. But I did find the bodies of your mother and the other victims in the attic first. I think she led me there.”

  I didn’t tell her I’d heard Darcy’s voice, but I did tell her about the smell of gardenias. “Every time I got close to something important, I’d get a whiff of them. It kind of freaked me out a little. Anyway, Sean caught us and left us chained up in the basement while he proceeded to burn the house down, so I’m afraid her body’s gone with the house.”

  “What? You were chained up in the basement? How did you get out?”

  “I was able to call a friend and the police. They got Geoff and me out in time, but Sean got away.”

  “He’s still out there?” she gasped.

  “No…they found him this morning. He committed suicide, but left a confession with all of the names of his victims. It will be in the news tomorrow. That’s why I wanted to tell you what happened first.”

  “Wow.” She glanced at me with admiration. “You were nearly killed over this. I don’t know how to thank you. I have more money…”

  “Please…that’s not what I want. I feel like your mother did most of the work anyway.”

  She let out a startled laugh. “It’s so funny that you should tell me that because…all these years, I have to tell you…I’ve felt like she was with me at times. Every once in a while I’ve gotten a whiff of gardenias too. In fact, just before you came here today, I smelled them again, but I thought it was just my imagination since there aren’t any flowers here.”

  “You don’t know how relieved that makes me feel,” I said. “I thought I was going crazy, smelling those flowers all the time. I’m so glad you told me.”

  “Thank you Shelby,” she said. “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.” She finally felt closure, but couldn’t let go of the grief yet.

  “You bet. Would you like me to tell your dad? I can do that for you.”

  “No. I want to tell him myself. I’ll go over there when we’re done. But thanks.” She chewed her bottom lip, suddenly nervous, before glancing at me with a shy smile. “You might think this is strange but, ever since I met you, I’ve felt a connection between us. I didn’t tell you this before, but when I first saw you walking toward me, for just a tiny second, I thought you were my mom. I mean…a lot younger version, but still her.”

  She clasped her hands together and glanced at her fingers. “I know it’s asking a lot, but would you consider coming to my wedding? I know it sounds crazy, but I just feel like you have a connection to my mom and it would mean the world to me to have you there. What do you think?”

  “Oh Tiffany! I would be honored to come.” I smiled and put my hand over hers. Her breath hitched and she gave me a tight hug.

  “It’s this Friday, I hope that won’t be a problem.”

  “Um…I don’t think so,” I said.

  “Great. And you can bring your husband with you.”

  “Oh…well then, that settles it. We’ll be there for sure,” I agreed.

  “There’s one more thing,” she said. This time her face went pink with embarrassment. “I know it sounds crazy, but I was out shopping Friday and I found this gorgeous dress. It was something that I just knew my mom would love…so I got it. I don’t know why exactly, but I couldn’t leave the store without buying it. It’s the perfect dress for my wedding, so maybe I thought that if you found her, she could wear it. Now that I know she’s gone, do you think you could wear it? Unless it will freak you out…then you don’t have to.”

  “Tiffany…as long as it fits, I’d be happy to wear it. What size did you get?”

  “Well, it’s kind of funny because after I met you I figured we were about the same size and so that’s the size I got. Kind of weird, huh? Anyway…it’s a size eight. Will it fit you?”

  “Yes,” I said, raising my brows. “That’s my size.”

  “Awesome!” She clapped her hands together, then gave me another hug. “I left it in my car. Let’s go get it. Oh…and I have invitations so I can give you one of those too.”

  As we walked to her car, we talked about her wedding and how excited she was to get married. She popped open the trunk and pulled out a large box. She touched the box with reverence and I couldn’t wait to see the dress inside. Removing the lid, she pushed aside the tissue and pulled it out to show me.

  “Oh my, it’s beautiful!” I exclaimed. The gauzy folds of all-over tiered ruffles hung in perfect symmetry over a V-neckline and cap sleeves. The pin-tucked empire waist with a cascade-detail skirt in a light violet color gave it an ethereal feel. I couldn’t wait to try it on.

  Tiffany held it up to me and smiled. “The color’s perfect on you.” With a happy sigh, she folded it gently into the box and replaced the lid, then handed it to me. “It’s yours. I want you to keep it.”

  I felt a little guilty taking the dress until I heard her thinking that it hardly made up for the horrible experience I’d been through, but she hoped it helped. I smiled, knowing she had a point, and took the box. “Thanks Tiffany.”

  “Let me grab an invitation. The wedding’s at four o’clock with a dinner and reception to follow.” She opened the car door and took out an envelope. “Here you go.”

  I took it, surprised to find my name already written on the outside. I glanced at her, but she just shrugged, thinking that with my premonitions, she hoped I wasn’t too surprised. “And please don’t bring a gift,” she said. “Just having you there will be enough.” Now she was thinking she probably owed me a couple hundred dollars or more, and maybe I wouldn’t ask for it if I didn’t have to bring a gift.

  “Okay,” I said with a chuckle. “That should make us even.”

  Her face flamed with embarrassment, but she laughed to cover it up. “Thanks Shelby, I hope you know how much this means to me.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

  I drove home, happy and pleased that I’d helped Tiffany find the closure she needed. I was also a little bit nervous about popping in at her wedding like I was taking her mother’s place, but it was her day and I wanted her to be happy. I just hoped everyone else could accept my presence there with a good attitude.

  ***

  That afternoon, I got the call from Billie I’d been expecting. She begged me to let her come over and do an interview, so I gave in, deciding we could go out on the deck and sit on my new swing to talk. That way, reliving the horror of those moments might not turn me into a blubbering idiot since just thinking about it still gave me the shivers.

  She arrived with a two liter bottle of diet soda which, I had to admit, was a nice surprise. I got some glasses with crushed ice and she raised hers in a toast.

  “To Shelby, the best PI I know.”

  I laughed and we touched our glasses together. “Thanks Billie, but it was close. I almost died.” I told her the whole story, except the parts where I heard Darcy’s voice and smelled the flowers. I even told her that Ramos rescued Geoff and me, but told her not to put that in the paper. “He’d have to kill you if you did.” I was only half-joking. “You can say it was one of the firefighters. That would almost be
the truth.”

  Billie shook her head. “Fine,” she agreed. “But someday you’re going to have to tell me the story of how you met Manetto and Ramos.”

  She set her glass down, thinking I certainly had my share of adventures. Then she was suddenly struck with the brilliant idea that she could write a book about me from all of them. Then if I wouldn’t tell her any more details, she could make some up, and maybe add a few characters to make it juicy…although she had a sneaking suspicion that the real details were probably better than anything she could come up with. Once she got it in book form, it would probably become a best-seller. If she ever got laid off her job, or decided she needed a change, that’s just what she’d do, and she sincerely hoped I’d go along with it.

  Yikes! I didn’t like hearing that, and I didn’t want anyone writing about me. I was in enough trouble already. “So…how’s the investigation going with the Attorney General?”

  “Haven’t you heard?” she asked. “My article ran on Friday, and it caused quite a stir. The city council is asking for a complete investigation into the allegations. Even a few councilmembers have called for his resignation.”

  “Wow, that’s huge. Way to go.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate your help on that.” She was thinking how grateful she was for my help, and hoped I’d help her again.

  “So, are you and Dimples still dating? How’s that going?”

  She blushed a little, transforming from a jaded journalist into a lovelorn puppy. Wow. She had it bad. I sure hoped Dimples felt the same.

  “It’s good,” she said. “Except when I’m on the job I think I probably get on his nerves a little, but otherwise, we’re doing great.”

  “Nice,” I said, happy for her. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed back on the swing and closed my eyes. Reliving that horrible night had brought all the fear back and, for some reason, made me a little shaky.

  “Hey…are you all right? After everything you’ve been through…I just can’t imagine it.”

  My chest tightened that she noticed, and sudden tears came to my eyes. I sniffed, but couldn’t hold them back. “Wow…I guess I am struggling a little. You know, with my family, I’ve been trying to make light of it and be strong, but now that you ask…I have to tell you, I really thought I was going to die. It was pretty bad.”