“Well,” Mrs. Henley grinned. “Ain’t this nice? All together in one place.”
“What did you do with the Edgarses?” I stepped in front of Mom.
“They ain’t home. Must still be at Bingo.”
“But the gunshot.”
“I saw my reflection in a mirror and got startled.” Her smile didn’t fade. “That should show you how unbalanced I am, and how stupid it is for you to keep talking.” She motioned for us to take seats at the table.
“My boyfriend,” Angela began.
“Is sleeping in his car. Stupid fool. He should know not to take coffee from a killer. Even if that killer is a middle-aged woman.” Mrs. Henley laughed. “He’ll be out until morning. You,” she pointed at Cheyenne, “turn off the lights. We’ll sit here by the light of the moon and get to know each other a little better until I take you somewhere far far away. I need to catch my breath. My heart is beating like an Indian drum. How does a permanent vacation to La La Land sound?”
“Where’s Bob or Rusty?” I stuffed my Taser between my thighs, pressing them together in the seat to keep it in place, and folded my hands on the table.
“I told you Rusty is at my sister’s house. Bob is in jail, the last I heard, for drunken and disorderly conduct. That man does like to party. Oh, cake.” She tore off a hunk of carrot cake Mom had baked earlier that day and took a huge bite, raining crumbs down the front of her. “I knew it was just a matter of time before you put the pieces together. Once I found that long hair of yours on my carpet, I knew the gig was up. My dear Rusty was convinced it was a bad person who killed those people. Sad, really, that he saw me, but I was wearing a ski mask and men’s clothes. Couldn’t hurt him by knowing it was me. I would never hurt that poor boy any more than I already have.”
“But, why?” If I kept her distracted enough, could I overpower her and zap her with my Taser? Mom must have been thinking the same thing because she met my gaze and shook her head.
Once Cheyenne turned off the kitchen light, Angela sat with one arm around each of her children and glared. She showed more fire than I’d ever seen her display. What a sight we must have made, all there in our pajamas and staring down the barrel of a gun.
“Since you’re going to kill us anyway,” I said, my voice cracking, “may I ask why? Why Mrs. Lincoln? Why Torie?”
“Oh, for crying out loud. You’re the nosiest person I’ve ever met. Can’t you just leave it at the fact I had my reasons?” She wiped her free hand on the skirt of her dress. “Marion found out who Rusty’s father was. That would have ruined my reputation. All a woman has is her good name, you know. And that slut, Torie, well, she made fun of my boy. Told everyone she knew how he watched her. He couldn’t help it!” Spittle flew from her lips. “She taunted him on a daily basis.”
“Why do you want to kill Herman and Cecelia?” I shifted my legs to ease the sharp edges of my weapon from digging into my skin.
“They are fugitives, Stormi. Not worth the taxpayer dollars that protect them. Why do you keep squirming?”
“I need to use the restroom.”
“Tough. It won’t matter soon anyway. Get up. All of you.”
“If we leave this house,” Mom whispered. “We’re dead.”
“When I get up, grab my Taser, then shove it into my underpants.”
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. “Mine is in my bra.”
What was it with fifty-year-old women stuffing weapons into their bras?
“Stop talking.” Mrs. Henley rapped me on the shoulder with the butt of the pistol.
My arm went numb, and I cried out. Upstairs, Sadie went crazy barking and clawing at the door. Now, she wanted to be brave, the darling thing. Best she stay where she was. I didn’t put it past the crazy woman in front of me to shoot her. Much like she planned for us.
My legs shook as I got to my feet, holding my sore arm close to my side. Before I took a step forward, a cool draft blew up under my nightgown and the cold of the Taser hit my backside. No time for modesty. I’d hike up my skirt and go for the weapon at the first opportunity.
“The van is out front. Move it. Ann, you’re driving. One false move and I’ll shoot one of your daughters or grandchildren.”
“You old witch.” Mom shoved past her and outside, leaving the door open and the door banging against the outside wall. “You’ll find we won’t be as easy to kill as your prior victims. The Nelsons don’t go down without a fight.”
“We’ll see.” She held the gun to Dakota’s temple. “How’s this for incentive?”
Tears welled in his eyes, but to his credit, my nephew didn’t make a sound and kept walking. Cheyenne’s tears ran down her face, and she huddled close to her mother. I needed to do something before my family was harmed.
I glanced down the street at Matt and Mary Ann’s dark house. I wanted to ask Mom if she had ever gotten a call off to Matt, but held my tongue. Either she had or she hadn’t. If Matt didn’t show up soon, our survival depended on ourselves. Oh, I hoped he showed.
Mrs. Henley ordered Mom to drive, then climbed into the back seat with Dakota, still pointing a gun to his head as incentive for the rest of us to cooperate. Mom reached to grab her seatbelt and laid on the horn. I reached up and turned on the dome light. Lights flickered on up and down the street.
Mrs. Henley whacked me behind my right ear, hard enough to draw blood. I saw stars and clicked off the light. “Stop that horn and drive!”
Mom turned the key and spun tires down the street. “Don’t hit my daughter again or I swear I’ll drive this van into the nearest light pole and hope you go through the window.”
“Tough talk for a dead woman walking.” Mrs. Henley leaned over the back of my seat. “Oh, Stormi, you’re bleeding. That must hurt like the dickens. Just goes to show what happens when someone messes with me or mine.”
I blinked away the colored stars in front of my eyes. For the first time in my life, I strongly desired to hit someone hard enough to knock them out. I squirmed against the hard lump in my underpants. With Mrs. Henley breathing down my neck, there was no way I could retrieve my Taser, not to mention the nausea churning in my stomach from the blow to my head. I didn’t know whether to lose consciousness or lose my dinner.
I turned and glanced behind us, hoping, praying, that my trick with the dome light had alerted one of the neighbors to our predicament. Surely one of them had looked out the window in time to see Mrs. Henley hit me and would contact the police.
Thirty minutes of the longest car ride of my life, Mom turned onto the road that led to the lake. We needed to get away from our abductor. There was only one reason for her to drive us all the way out there in the middle of the night, and it wasn’t good.
“Everyone out.” Mr. Henley poked me in the back with her gun. I so wanted to throw the thing out the window.
I scooted across the seat, the Taser scraping my backside, and followed Angela and the kids out the side door. Mom exited and slammed her door, the sound reverberating across the water.
“Keep it up. No one is going to hear you out here. Not at this time of the night. Now start walking.”
“Which way? I can’t see a thing.” Mom turned in a slow circle. “You should have brought a flashlight.”
“There’s a cave not too far from here, I’ve heard. Let’s go camping. I’m sure one of you brats knows where it is.”
“I know,” Cheyenne said. “But it will be hard to find in the dark. We’ll trip over rocks and roots and stuff.”
Mrs. Henley shrugged. “If you fall, I’ll shoot you where you lie.”
23
“Don’t go straight to the cave,” I whispered to Cheyenne. “Lead her in a roundabout way.” My niece nodded and veered to the right.
“What are you saying up there?” Mrs. Henley huffed her way to my side. “I don’t trust you, Stormi. No more talking.”
Darn. I’d just been about to reach for my Taser.
I took a step closer to Mom only to have our captor
get between us. If I didn’t retrieve my Taser soon, I was going to have one heck of a rash, not to mention we were heading deeper into the woods and farther from the van.
I motioned with my head for Mom to hang back as we crested a hill. There was a bit more light, but not much. Heavy clouds skittered across the moon. Add in the fact it was early morning, the darkest hours before dawn, and I could barely see my family beside me. In my white nightgown, I was probably the most visible. Not a good thing when someone wanted to kill you.
I contemplated dashing into the thick trees, yelling run, and hoping my family took the hint and scattered like chickens. The idea might work, having Mrs. Henley focus on me in my stark white rather than the others. I’d rather have her shoot me than any of them. Especially since it was my fault they were all along for the ride. Nosiness really was a new disease for me that I needed to get under control.
What was one more best-seller if it meant my life or the lives of my family? I could just as easily have made up a mystery if that was the route I wanted to take. No one said I needed to experience the plot personally, right? That decision had been mine alone. Mine. Now, my family was at risk. Tears clogged my throat.
The farther we walked, the more I thought skedaddling was the best idea. Why allow ourselves to be led to slaughter like a bunch of old cows? It was better to die fighting, or in this case, running. “Run!”
I dove into the bushes on my left while my sister and her children turned right. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled down what could barely be called a trail. Crashing behind me told me who Mrs. Henley had chosen to pursue me. Good. At least my family was safe.
“Faster, Stormi.” Mom panted and gave me a shove from behind. “Here. You dropped this.” She shoved my Taser in my hand.
“You weren’t supposed to follow me.”
“I couldn’t let you go alone. Angela has the other two. Move it!” Another shove, then Mom passed me. “Mrs. Henley chose to go after you.”
I increased my pace, trying to ignore rocks that cut into my bare feet and branches that tore at my hair. Bruises would heal, bullets were forever. The rest of the family had had time to slide their feet into slippers before coming downstairs. Me? All I’d thought about was getting next door to check on the neighbors. I tripped over an exposed root and wind-milled my arms to keep from falling again and surfed a few feet on slippery, decaying leaves. My dive into the bushes the first time had already taken the skin off my knees, I wasn’t in a hurry to add other bruises to my body.
An owl hooted from a tree nearby, sending my heart into my throat. Ahead, I could barely make out the flap of Mom’s robe as she passed between the trees.
A shot rang out. Pain ripped through my thigh, sending me to my knees. I screamed and grabbed my leg as I turned to stare into the sweating face of a killer.
Keeping the gun trained on me, Mrs. Henley bent over to catch her breath. “You shouldn’t have worn white, you idiot. You stand out like a ghost.”
I would have made a smart-mouthed comment about ghosts being invisible if I hadn’t been in so much pain. I groaned and flopped to my back. “Just shoot me and get it over with, but leave my family alone.” My hand tightened around my Taser. Come closer, come closer.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I’ll have to hunt them all down.” She leaned against a tree. “I’m not a natural killer, Stormi. You need to believe that.”
“Right.” Tears streamed down my face. “Killing multiple people comes easy to so many.”
She sighed. “You aren’t a mother. You don’t understand how a mother feels when someone threatens her child.”
“No, but I do.” Mom leaped from behind the tree and placed the Taser against Mrs. Henley’s neck. The woman let out a sharp shriek and crumbled to the ground. Mom rushed to my side.
“No, not worry about me yet. You only have thirty seconds before she gets up.” I pushed to a sitting position. “Use the sash to your robe to tie her up.”
“You need it on your leg. You’re bleeding pretty bad.”
“Mom! Just this once, please listen to me. Hand me her gun and then tie her up.” The night seemed to be getting darker. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay conscious.
Angela and her two, crashed through the brush in time to help Mom drag Mrs. Henley to a tree and tie her arms around the trunk. Dakota pulled off his tee-shirt and tied it around my thigh.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood, Aunt Stormi.” He cinched the tourniquet tight.
I hissed with pain and bit my lip as I flopped onto my back. Matt, where are you? “Someone needs to find their way back to the van and go for help.”
“I don’t know the way back,” Cheyenne admitted. “We took such a long way around, I got us lost.”
Wonderful.
“Good. We’ll all die out here.” Mrs. Henley yanked against her binds. “They’ll see me tied to the tree and blame you, Stormi Nelson, writer extraordinaire. The author who will do anything for a story.”
“Shut up, you old crow,” Mom said, “or I’ll zap you again. It will serve you right if a wild animal gets you.” She plopped next to me. “We’ll wait until daylight and find our way out.” She pulled her cell phone from her cleavage.
“What all do you have in there?” I closed my eyes. “It’s like a cornucopia.”
“This is it. I have one bar on my phone. I’m going to try calling Matt before I lose reception.” She punched in a series of numbers. “Hello? Can you hear me? Matthew? We’re on the mountain somewhere near the lake… Stormi has been shot … I don’t know where we are, exactly … We were headed for some cave. My granddaughter managed to get us lost … Just hurry.” She patted my shoulder. “They’re going to send a helicopter.”
I opened my eyes and stared at the canopy of tree limbs overhead. “Someone needs to find a clearing.”
“I’ll go.” Angela aimed a kick at Mrs. Henley and grabbed Cheyenne’s hand. “We’ll leave Dakota here to protect you.”
“From what?” Mom asked. “The only varmint that wants to kill us is tied up. If she gets undone, I’ll zap her again. That felt really good on my end.”
I laughed, then groaned. Each movement, no matter how small, sent agony rippling through me. “Wake me when help arrives.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Mom shook me. “You have to stay awake. If you fall asleep, you’ll die. Come on. Scoot up against this log and sit.”
Tears streamed down my face as I forced myself into a sitting position. What a baby. Did every person who got shot cry endless tears? I needed something to take my mind off the pain.
“Hey, Mrs. Henley. There are some holes in this mystery that you can fill while we wait. First of all … you used a different weapon each time.
“It’s called resourcefulness. A lot of other people could benefit from the same way of thinking.”
Mom and I shared a shocked look. “How did you find out the Edgarses were in the Witness Protection?” I asked.
“I didn’t. Ethel did. That woman was the biggest snob I’d ever met. Everytime someone new moved into the neighborhood, she Googled them.” She tugged against the sash. “I’m not quite sure how she found out Rusty’s father was the late, great Harvey Winthrop, but once she confronted me with it, why, I couldn’t let her live, now could I?”
Well, yes, she could. “The former mayor Winthrop?”
“I was quite the hottie in my day. My poor husband was infertile, so when I came up pregnant, sparks flew. The poor man had a stroke one day while ranting and raving over my infidelities. I was so distraught that when Rusty was born … special, I put him up for adoption. I never got over that. Untie me this instant!”
With my questions answered, I didn’t want to hear her voice for one more second. The woman was pure evil. “Zap her again, Mom. Make her shut up.”
“Gladly.” Mom zapped her and tightened the sash while Mrs. Henley sat slumped over. “A few more minutes and she would have been free. I’m not that good at tying knots aft
er all.”
“Here.” Dakota whipped the drawstring from his shorts. “We can tie her feet with this.”
Without the string, his shorts hung dangerously low. Good thing we wouldn’t need to run anymore or my nephew would be sporting nothing but a pair of boxers. “I love you, Dakota,” I said, “you’re a great kid to go sleuthing with.”
He cast a worried glance at Mom. “Uh, I love you, too. Is she dying?”
Mom shook her head. “Just delirious from blood loss.”
Despite the bravery in Mom’s words, I could tell she was worried. If Matt didn’t arrive soon, I might not get to write the ending to my story. The world faded, and my eyes closed.
*
I woke to movement that sent shards of glass through me. I opened my eyes and stared at the firm jawline of the hunky Matthew Steele. “You came.”
He glanced down. “Nothing could have kept me away.”
“I thought you were mad at me.”
“No, I only wanted you to be safe, you silly, foolish woman.” He shifted my weight, cradling me closer to his chest. “We’ll be at the copter soon. You’re going to be fine.”
“I’m feeling a bit weak.” If God was going to call me home, there was nowhere I’d rather spend my last moments than in Matt’s arms. “I see a light.” This was it. This was the end.
“That’s the light on the copter.”
“Oh.” I buried my face in his neck and closed my mouth before I said something embarrassing.
Soon, we were airborne, me strapped to a gurney and Matt sitting beside me. “Your family will meet us at the hospital,” he said. “Mrs. Henley is on her way to jail. I have your Taser.”
“It was down my underpants, but it fell out.”
His eyes widened, but he wisely chose not to ask any questions about why I had carried it there. I suppose it might have been mortifying had I managed to zap myself. I was delirious. No doubt about it. Matt had saved my life, chose to ride in the copter with me despite his earlier threat to spend no more time in my company, and I talked about stupid things. Instead, I should be telling him my feelings, and making promises to never go against his advice again.
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 15