by Susie Gayle
The door swings open behind us and for a moment, my heart leaps up into my throat because I expect it to be Patty bursting in on us.
But it’s not; it’s a red-faced Tom Savage.
“Rachel, I have a bone to pick with you…” He trails off as he sees the four of us in her office, and me still holding Trace by the lapels. “What is going on here?”
I let go of Trace. “Come on, Tom. We’re all taking a little road trip.”
CHAPTER 16
* * *
It’s a little cramped in my SUV with five people and two pets. Sarah rides shotgun with both Basket and Rowdy in her lap, the latter of which stares untrustingly over her shoulder and softly growls at Trace, who sits in the center of the backseat between Tom Savage and Rachel Stein.
“Could you, maybe, make sure you’ve got a hold of him?” Trace says nervously. “He looks like he wants to bite me again.”
I shrug. “He got a taste of your blood. Must be very sweet, Trace.”
“Smells like dog back here,” Rachel Stein mutters.
I ignore her and make a call on my cell phone as I roll to a stop at a red light.
“Hey, Will,” Sammy answers. “I was wondering when you’d call. I heard some stuff was going down; are you okay?”
“Sammy, I need you to drop whatever you’re doing and come to the pet shop.”
“I’m, uh, sort of in the middle of giving a haircut here…”
“Well, that fellow’s going to have to be half-sheared for now. Shorn? Half-shorn.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Sammy boy, I’ve got Stein, Savage, and some guy named Trace in my backseat right now.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes.” Sammy hangs up.
***
Sammy jogs up to the Pet Shop Stop at the same time I pull my car to the curb. He watches with concern as the five of us get out—Tom Savage looking confused, Trace looking nervous, Rachel Stein appearing irate.
He leans close to me and half-whispers, “This is bad, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah.” I pat Sam on the shoulder and turn to Sarah. “Cat,” I tell her. I reach into my pocket and pull out the key we found on Pookie’s collar. I slip it into the door to the pet shop and twist. Of course, it unlocks it.
I let everyone inside, lock the door behind us, and make sure the sign is still flipped to “closed.”
Sarah turns to me inquisitively. “Snake?”
“Mr. Savage,” I say, turning to the red-faced, confused man. “When I told you that Petunia was responsible for Karen’s death, you said no. But it wasn’t out of disbelief, was it?”
He looks around at the other faces in the room. “Well, no… it was because Petunia couldn’t have killed her.”
“But tiger rattlesnakes have one of the highest venom toxicities of all the rattlers, don’t they?” I ask, feeling like a lawyer leading a witness. “You told me that yourself.”
“That’s true, but they also have one of the lowest venom yields of any poisonous snake. They could easily kill a mouse or a rabbit, or maybe even a small dog…”
“But not a full-grown adult.” I stride to the back of the store and mutter to myself, “Closet,” before I pull open the door to our tiny storage room. “You can come out now.”
Karen grins, squinting in the sudden light. “About time. I thought I was going to be dead forever.” She steps out and faces the confused group. “What’s all this? Are you having a party?”
Sarah rushes forward and hugs her tightly. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Hey, I was only dead for a couple hours.”
“You thought she was dead?!” Sammy exclaims.
“Tip of the iceberg, pal,” I tell him.
“Great. So, your ex-wife isn’t dead.” Rachel Stein rolls her eyes. “We can all sleep easy now. Can I go?”
“First, no. Second, shut up.” She glares at me, but I continue. “I know that while Sarah and I were away, Karen started asking too many questions.”
“I’ll say,” Tom Savage murmurs.
“So, you two decided to hire someone—Trace here. You’re… what, a private investigator?”
“That’s right.” Trace pats his jacket pockets. “I have a business card here, somewhere…”
“Save it. So, Trace starts following Karen, hoping to get some dirt on her—because if Savage and Stein have something to come back at her with, maybe she’ll stop snooping. How am I doing so far?”
“Spot on,” Trace admits.
“Be quiet,” Stein hisses through gritted teeth.
“I was wrong about one thing, though,” I continue. “I thought Sammy was the only one besides us with keys to the shop, but Karen had a set too; front and back door keys, in fact, from when we were married. I made her copies when we first opened, almost ten years ago. But here’s the part I’m fuzzy on.” I turn to Karen. “Why did you take Petunia?”
Karen smirks. “I found out from Sammy that it was Savage’s old pet. I thought I could use her as leverage to get him to talk.” To my expression, she quickly adds, “I wasn’t going to hurt her, I swear.”
“The salad tongs,” Sarah says suddenly. “And the cat carrier, in your apartment. That’s how you transported the snake.”
“Exactly,” Karen answers, “right up until Mr. Break-and-Enter over here snuck into my place.”
“I didn’t think she was home!” Trace protests, as if that makes it any better.
“But she was,” I retort. “And when she saw you, what did she do?”
“She let the snake out.” Trace stares at the floor, ashamed. “So, I ran into the bedroom.”
Stein scoffs. “You are about the worst detective ever.”
“Hey, it’s a rattlesnake, okay? That was scary. And at least I got her phone before I ran away.”
“And what did you do?” I ask Karen.
“I jumped up on my armchair to avoid the snake. Then I hopped over it and into the kitchen, and looked for my salad tongs so I could grab it—”
“Her,” Tom Savage corrects. “Petunia is a ‘her,’ not an ‘it.’”
“But you couldn’t find them, because they were in the living room on top of the cat carrier,” I finish her statement.
“Right,” Karen agrees.
Sarah laughs a little. We all turn to her. “What?” she says. “We assumed that whoever broke in made the mess, but Karen was the one that knocked the armchair over and pulled out all the kitchen drawers. That’s funny to me.”
“So, then what did you do?” I ask her.
“I saw the tongs were in the living room, but I couldn’t see the snake anymore. It had just… disappeared. So instead I grabbed my purse and keys and got out of there.”
“And where had Petunia gone?” I ask.
Karen stares at the ceiling. “In my handbag. I didn’t realize it, but I was taking the snake with me.”
CHAPTER 17
* * *
Sarah snorts again. “What? You have to admit, it’s kind of funny.”
“I was dead for two hours!” Karen objects.
“You weren’t really dead. You were hiding in our closet,” Sarah counters. “By the way, how’d that happen?”
“I’m getting there,” I tell her. Turning to Trace, I say, “Now you had Karen’s phone, so you knew that me and Sarah were back in town. I’m guessing you relayed that to your employers, and they suggested that you try to find something on us, too. So, you broke into the pet shop and saw a phone; you assumed it was mine and took it.”
“And then your stupid dog bit me,” Trace mutters, eyeing Rowdy suspiciously.
“Serves you right,” Sarah cuts in.
Off to one side, Sammy rubs both his temples. “Unbelievable. All this happened in four hours?”
“I’m getting to the good part,” I tell him. “That’s when our friend Trace here decided to get cute. He messaged me pretending to be Karen and told us where to m
eet—at the parking deck. What were you hoping would come of that?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “I didn’t realize I took the wrong phone. I saw all the calls and texts to your ex-wife’s number, and… I assumed that I had something on you.”
“Wait.” Karen holds up a hand. “You thought that Will and I were sneaking around behind Sarah’s back?”
“Well… yeah.”
This time she snorts.
“Anyway,” Trace continues, “when you got there I saw your ex-wife’s car there too. I realized—or thought at the time—that the three of you were actually in this together, and I was outnumbered.”
“How did you know to be there?” I ask Karen.
“I assumed I couldn’t go home, so instead I went to the public library and used the computer there. You can see text messages and activity online, so I saw what he sent to you.”
“So, you went there hoping to meet up with us,” Sarah pipes up. “And that’s when the snake bit you?”
Karen nods. “Yup. I was actually hoping to get a picture of this guy,” she motions to Trace, “but that sneaky little snake slithered out of my purse and bit me on the hand.”
“But you weren’t moving,” Sarah says. “Will even checked your pulse!”
I snap my fingers. “Sino… sino… something-or-other.”
“Sinoatrial arrest,” Karen says for me. “We used to think I had sleep apnea, but I have a heart condition—an arrhythmia. Sometimes my heart stops beating for a couple seconds at a time. When the snake bit me, I guess the venom shut my body down for, oh, like eight seconds or so…”
“Which was exactly how long it took us to find you, check your pulse, and then see that the snake was in the car with you.” I shake my head incredulously. “Talk about bad timing.”
“I was conscious, though,” she tells me. “I came around right as you ran off after this guy.”
“Why didn’t you just get out of the car and come find us?” Sarah asks.
Karen shrugs. “You thought I was dead. So did he.” She points at Trace. “I figured no one would come looking for a dead woman.”
“Do you have any idea what you put us through?!” Sarah exclaims.
“Yeah, she does,” I say. “That’s partially why she did it; she knew it would be the kick in the pants we’d need to do things the Karen way. Throw around accusations and get answers.”
Karen grins. “Once I realized the snake wasn’t going to kill me, I drove off. I went to my mom’s house first. I was going to use her phone to call you, but then I realized I didn’t know anyone’s cell phone number by heart… except my own. So, I had to send a message that would seem nonsensical to anyone else. I figured at some point you’d get my phone back. Then I used my key to the back door of the shop and hid out in the storage room until you found me.”
I almost laugh. For a little while there, I was so convinced that Karen was dead by the hands of not one, but two hitmen who were going to come after us as well—and I’m not going to say it out loud, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. And if not for Karen’s ridiculous text message, I might still be looking for a second nonexistent guy.
“Well, I for one am very glad that no one’s dead,” Rachel Stein says loudly. Somehow, she manages to say it without sounding very glad at all. “However, I’d like to point out that there are now an entire roomful of people that know all about us now. Where do we go from here?”
I glance at Karen. She shrugs. I look over at Sammy; he stares pensively at the floor with a fist over his mouth.
He says something, muffled by his hand.
“What was that?” Stein asks him.
“I said, ‘we end it.’”
“End it? End it how?”
“Look, this is insanity,” Sammy says louder. “You thought Karen was dead, and we’re hiring guys like Trace—no offense—and all of this started because me and Jerry thought we had a good idea to improve our town. But I never wanted anything like this. Not at all. So, I’m ending it.”
“And what… we’re just supposed to be okay with you knowing our secret?” Stein asks. “No. We need something on you, all of you.”
I shrug. “Dig as deep as you’d like. I’m sure you’ll find that I’m not all that interesting of a guy. Besides, technically you do have something on all of us; we all knew about the blackmail, and no one said a word.”
“That’s not good enough for me,” she says defiantly.
“Rachel.” Tom Savage finally speaks up. “It’s time for this to be over. Not just all this, but… us, too. What we’re doing is wrong. We both know we’ll never give up our lives and families to be together, so let’s just face reality. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
She blinks at him a few times, as if he just slapped her in the face. “Fine. I don’t want to see you anymore either, Tom. And you,” she turns to Sammy, “no more demands.”
“No more,” Sammy agrees.
“And you,” I turn to Stein. “No more cooking books.”
Sammy goes a little pale. “What does that mean?”
“These projects are not cheap,” she tells him. “I’ve had to siphon funds from elsewhere to accommodate them. The town’s finances are… not great.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” he demands.
“And lose the only leverage we had? No thank you.”
“I can’t believe things got so out of hand.” Sammy runs both hands through his hair. “Can we just… pretend this never happened?”
“I don’t know that we can do that,” I admit. “But I think we can put a stop to it now, and if we can keep it between us… maybe we’ll be okay. Can we all do that?”
“Definitely,” Savage says.
“Yeah,” Sarah agrees.
Karen shrugs. “Sure.”
Trace very slowly raises his hand. “Uh, I don’t know exactly what’s going on here, to be honest; I was just hired to follow you people. And frankly, I think you’re all nuts. So, can I just go?”
I nod. “Please do.”
“Great. Thanks.” He hurries toward the door, making sure to keep one eye on Rowdy. He unlocks it and as he slips out I hear him say, “Oh! Excuse me.”
I glance up in time to see Patty Mayhew step inside just as Trace leaves.
“Well,” she says, smiling. “If this isn’t the most suspicious looking meeting I’ve ever seen. Anyone want to tell me what you’re all doing here?”
CHAPTER 18
* * *
No one says anything for a long time, long enough for Patty to slowly walk over and inspect each of us in turn.
“Hmm?” she asks. “Anybody? Mr. Savage? Mr. Barstow?” She looks directly at me. “Should I be concerned that I was called out to Savage Cars today and found three of you there? Or that a man who fit Will’s description to a T was reported getting hit by a truck earlier while chasing another man down the street? Or maybe that Miss Cummings called my office just a short bit ago, only to hang up on me? It all seems awfully suspect if you ask me, and I’d hate to think that something was going on right under my nose. Makes me… itchy, just thinking about it.”
No one speaks. Sammy shifts uncomfortably.
Finally, Karen clears her throat. “I can tell you, Chief.”
“I’m all ears, Miss Bear.”
Every one of us turns to Karen, waiting to hear the next words out of her mouth.
“Tom Savage’s snake got loose,” she says.
Patty frowns. “What?”
“That’s right,” Savage chimes in. “Her name’s Petunia, and I’m usually really good about keeping an eye on her, but…”
“She got out,” Karen says. “While I was there at his dealership. And I don’t know how, but that slippery thing got into my car. See? Look.” She shows Patty her hand with the two small puncture wounds.
“It bit you? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Karen waves it off. “Did you know that eve
n though tiger rattlesnakes have the highest toxicity of almost all the rattlers, they also have one of the lowest venom yields?” She smiles innocently.
“Uh… no. I did not know that. Did you say a rattlesnake?”
“She came here to the pet shop so me and Sarah could help,” I tell Patty. “She figured we could do something about the snake.”
“Right,” Rachel Stein says. “And Tom called me to make sure there was no ordinance in the town bylaws against having a venomous snake as a pet.”
“And… are there?” Patty asks, unsure herself.
“Nope.”
“Okay,” the chief says slowly. “Then what about you?” She gestures with her chin toward Sammy, who wrings his hands together nervously at his waist.
“I, uh, thought I could help,” he mumbles. “I used to have a pet snake.”
Patty puts her hands on her hips and looks from one of us to the next. “Yeah, I don’t believe any of you for even half a second. The main reason for that is because I’m looking around here and, funny thing, I don’t see a snake.”
“Oh, right.” Karen chuckles. “It’s still in my car. We… weren’t sure the best way to get it out without anyone else getting bit.”
“Uh-huh. Show me.”
Karen leads, followed by Patty, and then the rest of us file out after them. Karen had parked her car two blocks away on a one-way street rather than on Center Street, where it would be conspicuous.
She cups her hands around her eyes and peers inside. “There, take a look.”
Patty does so too, and then she looks up at us in disbelief. “There’s a rattlesnake in your car!”
“I told you.”
The chief shakes her head. “Wow. You have to admit, it sounded like the worst lie in history.”
I shrug. “I guess it was so crazy it had to be true.”
“I guess so. Well, let me call animal control and see if we can’t get someone to handle her for you.” Patty pats Savage on the shoulder and says, “Don’t worry, Tom. They’ll be gentle. You’ll have her back in no time.”