“If I tell you that, I can’t protect you.”
“If you don’t tell us, we can’t stop him. Eventually, he’ll move on and do the same thing somewhere else. People are dying!”
“Prostitutes and gang members.”
“They’re still people,” I said. “Ryan, please. Is Reed Stinger?”
He nodded. “He’s my cousin. My family doesn’t turn against blood. Other than keeping Stormi and her family safe, despite her nosing around, my hands are tied in all this.”
“You have to turn yourself in to the chief.” Matt leaned against the porch. “You’ll lose your badge.”
“It’s fine.” Ryan took a deep breath. “I’ll become a private investigator or something.” He pushed to his feet. “Keep Rusty in jail until this is all over. I’ll get rid of Stinger.”
“How?” I crossed my arms.
“I’ll deal with it. That’s all you need to know.” He strolled back around the side of the house and out of view.
“Can we trust him?” I asked.
“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
Why did people keep saying that? Couldn’t the fact that I wasn’t dead have a little something to do with my abilities?
“You don’t think he’ll do something stupid, do you?”
Matt held out his hand. “I have no idea. Let’s eat.” He led me into the house.
Maryann stepped back from the window. “Was that Ryan? Why isn’t he coming in?”
I glanced at Matt for approval before telling her about their friend. He nodded that it was okay, I explained the latest findings while we set paper plates on the table.
“Oh.” She slumped into a chair. “Hmm. I never would have guessed that.”
“Yeah, it’s a shocker.” I was still reeling, and I’d had several hours to get used to the idea.
“I don’t think my brother will recover from this,” she said, setting out glasses of iced tea.
“I’m fine.” Matt sat at the head of the table. “He’s not all bad. He’s been looking out for my girl.” He gave me a sad smile. “He’ll make a great PI.”
I grabbed a slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza. “Why was Starr dragged into the station today?”
“Because she can’t keep her mouth shut.” Matt frowned. “I’ll tell you all about her in a few days. Right now, I’m starving.”
I met Maryann’s gaze and shrugged. While most of the time I’d been known to press for an answer, I figured my sweetheart had endured enough for one day. After supper, I planned on kissing him until he forgot all the bad things that had happened that day.
After we finished eating and stored the leftovers in the refrigerator, Matt led me to his front porch. “Two nights in a row we’re able to grab a few minutes alone. Whatever will we do?”
“I have a few things in mind.” I led him to a porch swing that matched the one on my porch and wrapped in a quilt he kept there, pulling one corner aside in invitation. “Wanna neck?”
His teeth flashed in the moonlight. “Now what kind of a fool do you think I am? Of course, I do.” He slid under the blanket with me and tilted my face to meet his.
We weren’t exactly alone, not with Ryan’s goons patrolling the street, but the evergreen bushes that shaded Matt’s porch in the summertime, helped hide us in the winter. Soon, Matt was kissing my neck, nibbling my earlobes, and making me forget the pain of the past day. Here, I had thought I would be helping him.
It didn’t take long before the quilt lay in a puddle at our feet. Having reverted back to our teenage years with the heavy petting, we’d warmed ourselves right up. My breath short, I came up for air. “Wow.”
Matt rested his head against mine. “Yeah. We’d better go inside. I’m sure the neighbors are having a field day watching the show.”
I giggled. “The only one who will care is Mrs. Olsen.” I stood and folded the quilt.
The intensity of desire for him scared me. Since I’d held to the vow I made years ago, maybe alone time with Matt wasn’t a good idea. We were getting dangerously close to a line I wasn’t ready to cross.
“Matt!” Maryann stood in the doorway. “Ryan’s been shot. He didn’t make it.” She burst into sobs.
I slipped my hand in Matt’s and held on tight. We’d just lost our protection and a good friend.
24
After staying up late mourning the loss of Ryan, who it appears had tried to take on his cousin alone, I headed to the coffee shop for the largest blended frozen coffee they had. My eyes were gritty and swollen from crying and lack of sleep. I still couldn’t believe he was gone.
Detective Ryan Koontz might not have been exactly who we thought he was, but he had tried his best to do right by Matt and me. For that, I loved him.
I choked back tears and parked in front of the coffee shop, not caring that I took up two spaces. I glanced at Greta, who, now that Ryan was gone, vowed to never leave my side until the gang leader was behind bars. While I appreciated the gesture, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
“Do you want anything?” I asked.
“No. Just make it quick. Windows don’t stop bullets.”
I nodded and headed into the shop. As usual the line was long. What wasn’t usual, was the absence of Sarah typing one of her smut books at the table in the corner. The mood was subdued, whispered words of Ryan’s passing. Elaborated stories on his death, touching on everything from a violent shootout to taking his own life. Mom had closed her store for the duration.
In reality, he’d been shot, execution style. I wanted to yell for everyone to shut up, go home, and lock their doors. Exactly what I had planned until everything was over.
The minute Ryan’s death had become known, the “zombies” had scattered like dust in the wind. I pressed my arm close to my chest where I’d chosen to stash my gun. Keeping it in my purse was no longer an option and the bulky sweatshirt I wore effectively hid the weapon. It probably wasn’t the smartest move coming out for coffee, but locking myself in a prison would only drive me crazy. I’d promised to only go into crowded places when I felt the need for a bit of freedom. Matt had reluctantly agreed, as long as I didn’t go alone and went straight to my destination and back.
Loaded down with coffee for me and my mother, I rejoined Greta in the jeep, and put the drinks in the cup holders. “Ready for confinement?”
“That sounds pretty good to me at this point. While Delicious Aroma might be packed, the streets look like a ghost town. It gives me the creeps.”
I nodded and steered toward home. On the outskirts of my neighborhood, Sissy darted into the street and flagged us down. “Do I stop?”
“What if she’s in trouble?” Greta rolled down her window. “You being chased?”
“Yes.” She ran up to the car. “Please let me in.”
She yanked open the passenger door, whipped a nine-millimeter from her pocket and whacked Greta in the head. Grabbing Greta’s arm, she pulled her from the jeep, letting her fall to the road, before turning the gun on me. “Drive.”
“Did you kill her?”
Sissy shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. Drive or I will shoot you right here where that handsome cop can come across your body.”
I sighed. “Where to?”
“The warehouse district.”
I whipped the jeep around and spun gravel taking us in the directions she’d ordered. “I knew it was you. You got the poison ivy from Ivy’s greenhouse.”
“Well, aren’t you just the smartest white woman I’ve ever met.”
“Why Daisy?”
She cut me a sideways glance. “It isn’t a secret on the streets that I’m Stinger’s woman. She caught us together, recognized him, and threatened to go to the cops.”
“Ginger?”
“Another smart white woman.”
“You can drop the racial slurs, now.” I slowed the jeep’s speed, hoping, praying, Greta would be able to go for help. “They don’t help.”
“Reed is Stinger, righ
t?”
“Yep, not that it’s going to matter to you. Turn right up here.” She directed me to pull in front of an abandoned building with boarded up windows.
“We thought this stupid little town would be the perfect center of operation. Now, once we dispose of the threats, we’ve got to move on. No more law enforcement for my man. Get out and don’t try anything. I’m a good shot.”
I climbed from the jeep and stood while Sissy climbed over the gearshift after me.
“Can I at least get my purse and my coffee?”
“I’ll get them.” She slung my purse over her shoulder and handed me one of the coffees.
I thought for a moment about throwing it in her face, but a frozen drink wouldn’t do anything more than make her angry. I sipped at the melting slush. Maybe the caffeine would give me courage. At that moment, I was in short supply.
She peered in my purse. “Where’s that stupid pink gun of yours?”
“I didn’t think I would need it just getting coffee.”
She cocked her head. “Maybe you aren’t as bright as I gave you credit for. Let’s go.” She waved her gun toward a battered gray door in the side of the building.
My knees shook. I couldn’t go in there. If I went in, I’d never come back out. I watched gangster movies. I knew what happened in warehouses. “Are you going to torture me? I don’t have any information to give you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” I held my cup so tight some of the coffee spilled through the straw hole.
Sissy guided me to a large room that smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. Two metal chairs sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room. A woman with blond hair, head hanging, occupied one of them. My steps faltered.
“Sit there beside the stupid cop.” Sissy shoved me into the chair. “I hope you’re done with that coffee. I’m taking it so I can tie you up.”
“Why? I can’t go anywhere. You have a gun. Let me finish, at least.” I needed to stall until I could get my hand in my bra and pull out my gun.
Sissy cut some twine from a roll on the floor and bound my feet to the legs of the chair. “I guess you can’t run with a chair tied to you.”
Twine? Seriously? I could rip through that in an hour. I thought the favored method of tying someone up was those plastic zip ties.
“Wake up, cop.” Sissy kicked the woman next to me. “You’ve got company.” She moved to a corner of the room and pulled a cell phone from her pocket.
While she called someone, Reed most likely, I peered at the woman next to me. She lifted her head and forced a smile through split lips. “Starr?” My blood ran cold. “You’re a cop? You don’t look old enough to be out of high school.”
One eye was swollen shut, and her left cheek sported a dark bruise. Oh, God, they were going to torture me.
“Looking young is what helped me infiltrate the ring. My name is Linda. Glad to meet you.”
The same Linda that Matt was yelling at on the phone?
“We have to get out of here,” I whispered. “They’re going to kill us.”
“I know that, but they took my gun.”
“I have one in my bra.”
“What?” She laughed, splitting her lip again.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the spot of blood dripping onto her tee shirt. “She searched my purse, but didn’t frisk me.”
“Yeah, that one is dumber than a pile of fingernail clippings.”
“Who beat you?”
“Not her. Reed did it. We have to get loose before he returns. I almost have my hands free. Once I do that, I’ll retrieve your weapon and get us out of here.”
Retrieve it? Oh, Lord, have mercy. I pulled against my restraints.
“You two have fun.” Sissy wiggled her fingers at us. “Stinger will be here in an hour, then we’ll have some fun.”
“She’s crazy, that one. I’m going to bounce my chair around and you untie—”
“Oops.” Sissy came back into the room. “Almost forgot.”
She took my cup and tossed it in the corner, then tied my hands behind my back. “Leaving you untied would not have been a good thing. My man would have been so mad.” She patted my cheek, rather roughly, and then practically skipped from the room.
We only had an hour to get away. No one knew where we were. If Greta wasn’t dead, she had probably been found by now and alerted Matt, but how would they know where to find us? My cell phone. Months ago, Matt had installed a GPS on my phone because of my constantly getting into fixes such as the one I was in now.
“She left my phone.” I grinned. “Matt will find us.”
“Will he find us in time?” She yanked against the twine on her wrists hard enough to break a sweat.
“Your wrists are bleeding. If you keep pulling like that, you’ll break them.” I maneuvered my way around and worked at the twine. Her blood soon coated my fingers, making them slippery. Concentrate, Stormi. You can do this. They were almost shredded. Another good yank or two, and she would be free.
Footsteps echoed outside the door. I hurried to put my chair back where it belonged and hung my head. If someone were to come in at that time, with Linda and I as close as we were to getting free, I didn’t think I could look sufficiently cowed.
The footsteps receded. I took a deep breath and let it out long and slow, trying to keep the panic at bay. “Koontz is dead,” I said.
She huffed. “I know. I was there. He recognized me, right before he was shot. His silent mouthing of my real name tipped off Reed. I don’t wish him dead, but he was mixed up in something dirty he should never have gotten involved in.”
“Reed is his cousin.”
She glanced at me through her one working eye. “I wouldn’t have covered for my cousin if they were anything like Reed.”
“Me either. Still, he was my friend and my protector. I won’t be happy that he’s gone.”
Drinking the coffee was a very bad idea. My bladder screamed for release. I squirmed on my chair and felt the bindings around my feet loosen. Hope blossomed. I spread my legs as far as they would go, again and again, the fibers of the twine biting into my ankles. If I could get my feet free…
I paused when more footsteps sounded outside the door. “When they come in,” I said. “Yank hard for all your worth. Our lives depend on it.” I got my feet free and stood. Painfully, my still healing scrapes screaming, I slipped my legs through my arms and worked on the ties around my wrists with my teeth. More footsteps.
Either Sissy was pacing or the entire gang was arriving. I chewed faster, sharp pieces of thread poking my tongue.
The door opened. I plopped back onto my chair, my hands behind me, and my ankles around the legs of the chair, the twine loose around them. Hopefully, no one would look too closely.
“He’s coming,” Sissy sang, entering the room. “This will all be over soon.” She approached us. “Too bad your death won’t be as creative as Daisy’s. That one was my crowning glory.”
“You’re sick.” I hoped ridiculing her would keep her from looking too closely at my feet.
“Shut up.” She put her face close to mine. I smelled the coffee I bought on her breath. “You’re going to be dead.”
I swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth, trying to think of something clever and condescending to say. But, the reminder I might die soon, shoved all thoughts from my head.
The door opened again and Reed marched in.
25
“Well, if it isn’t the two nosiest women in Oak Meadows.” Reed grinned, his teeth startlingly white against his dark skin. “And so pretty, too. It’s a pity, really, that I have to kill you.”
“You don’t have to kill us,” I said. “You could just leave town.”
He shook his head. “I will, but I don’t leave behind those who know my business or betray me. Starr, pretending to be something she isn’t, betrayed me. You, Miss Stormi, can’t listen when warned.”
“You are the biggest pretend
er.” Linda spit it him.
He backhanded her across the face, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her blood from his knuckles. “I don’t have the same rules, sweet girl.”
He knelt in front of me and lifted the twine off the floor. “You’ve been busy.”
I swallowed hard, then jumped to my feet, knocking him over.
Linda screamed, yanked against her restraints and also got to her feet.
I plunged my hand into my bra, pulled out my gun and tossed it to her. She shot Reed point blank in the chest before he was able to get to his feet. With the weapon pointed at Sissy, she calmly asked me to untie her ankles.
There was no way I could ever look at Linda as a young high school student again. Her quick thinking had saved our lives. I hadn’t done too shabby either. I got her feet free, then stood behind her.
“You killed him.” Sissy fell to her knees beside the killer. She whipped a gun out of his pocket.
Before she could raise her arm, Linda laid her out beside Reed. She grabbed my arm. “Let’s go. We can’t take the chance that the rest of the gang isn’t coming.”
I nodded, cast one last look at the two people who tried to kill me, and jogged after my new best friend. At least for the moment. “Wait. My purse.”
I dashed back into the room, grabbed my purse, and rushed to catch up with Linda. Where was Matt? I’d been missing at least an hour. Was Greta dead and unable to call for help? How long until my mother grew worried?
Outside, we sprinted for my jeep. “I’ll drive.” We had left the keys in the ignition, and Linda’s hands looked painful. “You need medical attention.”
“Give me your phone. I’ll call Matt and have him meet us here. We can’t take the chance that Reed’s goons will come and remove the body.”
“Um, I only have two bullets left in the gun.”
“Why isn’t the clip full?”
“I didn’t think I would need more than that. I’m not a cop. I don’t get into shoot outs.”
Two cars sped into the parking lot and boxed us in. Two young men got out of each car and held semi-automatic weapons on us.
“Wonderful.” Linda cursed.
I cringed at her language. I grabbed my phone from her hand and dialed Matt. “Where are you?”
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 46