“I am totally freaked out.” Maryann grabbed my arm. “No one is in here. We might find a wild animal. Let’s move to the next.”
“Okay.” We jumped from the rickety porch and moved on. Bingo.
This one showed clear footprints. Two sets. One in boots, the other gym shoes with a zig zag pattern on the bottom. I held up one hand to stop Maryann, and pulled out my gun with the other. I tried to whistle to alert Ben that I’d found something, but all that came out was a whisper and spit. I’d never mastered the art of whistling.
Maryann stuck two fingers in her mouth, blew, and almost shattered my eardrums.
“If anyone was around, they’ll know we’re here.” I glared.
She shrugged. “I’m not going in there.”
“Fine. Watch my back.”
I pushed open the door and stepped inside. I didn’t have to go any further.
Lying in a pool of dried blood next to the fireplace was Jordyn Townsend. She’d been shot multiple times, either because someone was a bad shot or because a battle had ensued.
I turned to examine the doorframe and wall behind me. No bullet holes. The killer had been a bad shot.
“Whoa.” Ben came up behind me, clapped a hand over his mouth, and dashed back outside. The sounds of retching drifted through the open window.
I sighed and pulled out my cell phone to call Matt. “I found Townsend. She’s dead.” I gave him directions to where we were and joined the others outside. I’d learned my lesson about contaminating a crime scene.
I took a seat on the top step and laid my gun next to me. If a trained police officer couldn’t find Dixon’s killer without getting killed, what made me think I was any better? I hung my hands between my legs and hid behind my curtain of hair.
“Lady, you’re as tough as a grizzly bear,” Ben said, sitting next to me.
I raised tear-filled eyes.
“I take that back.” He patted me awkwardly on the shoulder. “Was she a friend of yours?”
“No, but her death brought up the fact that I’m way over my head with this case. I don’t want to die, Ben. I’m getting married next month.”
21
“The boys and I will make sure you don’t die.” Ben gave a definitive nod. “But…we expect wedding invitations.”
“Consider yourself invited.”
“No, I want a fancy invitation.”
I motioned for Maryann to take note. “We’ll hand deliver them.”
Every time I got involved in a murder, I felt as if I was going to die. How many times could I beat the odds?
To take my mind off the body in the building behind me and how long it would take Matt to arrive, I called the hospital to check on Rusty.
Mrs. Rogers answered the phone. “He’s fine. I said I’d take care of him, and I will.”
“He means a lot to me. Don’t harp because I’m checking on his welfare.” I paced the rutted ground in front of the cabin.
“My apologies. Oh, he’s waking up.” Click.
I guessed he was in good hands. I kicked at a rock, disturbing a pile of pine needles. A ruby earring winked up at me. I’d seen those somewhere before. Using a brown oak leave, I picked up the earring and stuffed it into my pocket.
Sirens wailed in the distance. If the squad cars had the same trouble I did, they’d have a problem getting to the cabins. “Ben, could you and your buddies go give the cops a ride up here?”
He shuddered. “That’s asking a lot.”
“One of them is my fiancé. Play nice.” I watched them roar off on their Harleys, then turned to Maryann who kept glancing at the cabin as if she expected Townsend to come strolling out like a resurrected dead. “Who do you know that wears a ruby earring?”
“Lots of women.” She picked up a stick and drew curly Qs in the dirt. “Are you really going to invite Ben and his boys to the wedding? People will shrink back in fear.”
“I don’t care. They haven’t acted wrong toward us, and I count them as friends. Besides,” I grinned, “we won’t have to worry about any unwanted Paparazzi.”
“Like you have a lot of that.”
“For a day or two after every murder I solve. Add in a wedding, and flashbulbs are going to be going off.”
I stood when the motorcycles came back into view. Behind Ben rode my darling Matt. I sprinted toward him and slammed against him as soon as his feet were on the ground. “Townsend is inside and riddled with bullet holes.”
“Are you all right?” He tilted my face to meet his.
“Just grossed out and a bit sad.”
He nodded. “Stay here with your…friends.” He sighed. “I’ll be back out in a few minutes.”
“She’s safe with us, cop.” Ben took a step closer to me.
Matt shook his head, but looked relieved. Side by side, him and Wayne entered the cabin, leaving Michael to comfort Maryann and keep an eye on us outside.
“Blondie’s dating a cop, too?” Ben shrugged. “Danny’s going to be sad.”
“Which one is Danny?”
“The one looking like he wants to kill that young man.” He motioned his head toward a large man that had to weigh close to three hundred pounds. “Don’t worry. All he’ll do is send dirty looks that way. If these police are your friends, then we’ll tolerate them.”
“Thank you.” I resumed my seat on the top step as a jeep made its way up the road.
Two men jumped out and dragged a fold up gurney from the back. Someone must have warned them that an ambulance would never make it without damage. My question was…where were they going to put the body?
My question was answered shortly. They rolled Townsend out on the gurney, but folded her to put her into the back of the jeep. My mind immediately went to the fact that she had looked very stiff lying next to the fireplace. I couldn’t hear, but my imagination filled in the sound of bones breaking. I clapped my hands over them and sang, “La la la la la.”
“Lady’s lost it,” Ben told Matt as he pulled my hands down. “Thinks she’s going to die.”
“You said that?” Matt’s brow furrowed.
“Townsend was a cop and she’s dead. Oh. I found this.” I handed him the leaf wrapped earring. “I’ve seen it before, but can’t remember right now on whom.”
“It’ll come to you.” He turned to Ben. “Will you take her to her car? Make sure no one tampered with it? I’ll ride back in the jeep.” He turned and kissed me. “See you at home. Stay there.”
I nodded. I’d had enough adventure for one day.
Despite her protests, Michael insisted Maryann ride on the back of Big Dan’s bike. Soon, we were bouncing back to the highway and then speeding toward the bar. I grinned at the sight waiting for me.
Harleys circled the Mustang like covered wagons against Indians. No one was going to touch my rental car. “I owe you big time, Ben.”
“Don’t forget the wedding invitations. That’s payment enough. Oh, and make sure to have lots of good beer. If you don’t want to fork out the cash, we’ll bring our own.”
I laughed. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” I still couldn’t help but look under the driver’s seat before getting into the car.
“Seriously?” Maryann held her door open. “We find a dead body and you’re looking for a bomb? Maybe I should call a cab.”
“We’re good. I’m just paranoid.” I slid into the driver’s seat, counted to three, then rolled out as fast as I could, scraping my healing hands on the concrete. “We’re good!”
I waved at serious Ben and his friends. They already thought I was losing my mind. What was one more idiotic act?
When we got home, Mom was frosting dozens of cupcakes and setting them on a tray. Smart little Roxi licked off the frosting and put the cupcake back on the other tray. The ones with the unfrosted cakes.
“Uh, Mom? Do you feel as if you’ll never finish?” I pointed out what Roxi was doing.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. She’s been a wild cat today. You take her
for a while.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why are your hands bleeding?”
“I, uh, fell out of my car.”
“On purpose.” Maryann snitched.
Dakota dashed into the kitchen, grabbed two cupcakes, and rushed back out before anyone could say anything. I glanced at Mom, who shrugged.
“What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.” She groaned and dumped the cakes into the garbage. “I’ve been baking all day. I started out at the store, but Roxi acts like she’s developed hyperactivity all of a sudden. I think she misses her dad.”
“He’ll be here for supper.” I washed my hands, gently rinsing away the blood, then wrapped them in gauze. “Will you be happy to see daddy?” I knelt in front of Roxi.
“Yes!” She whirled and raced out of the room.
I gave chase as she barged out the front door Dakota had left open. Roxi squealed and chased him down the sidewalk. He glanced over his shoulder and increased his skateboard speed. Grabbing Roxi around the waist, I spun her in a circle. “Let’s take Sadie for a walk and burn off some of this energy.”
Not the best idea I ever had. Sadie and Roxi both ran circles around me until I lost all control and put the extra leash around Roxi’s wrist. At least she couldn’t run off. How much frosting had she managed to eat?
Mrs. Olsen watched our progress down the sidewalk, around the cul de sac, then in front of her house before turning off her water hose. “That the detective’s kid?”
“Yes.” I pulled both dog and child to a halt. “She got into the frosting, and I don’t know what Sadie’s problem is.”
“Lack of discipline.” She glanced toward the house and motioned for her husband to stay inside. “Did you notice that SUV is following you?”
“What? No.” I turned. Sure enough, there was a vehicle I didn’t recognize across the street. “Here. Hold these.” I thrust both leashes into her hands and raced for the SUV.
With a squeal of tires, they sped away. Mud conveniently covered the license plate. Townsend might have been killed by someone in a black SUV, now one was cruising my street. My heart skipped a beat as I rushed to get my dog and child and take them home to safety.
“We’re back.”
Mom shook her head. “Shortest walk in history.”
“I think we were being followed.” I went around the house checking doors and windows and closing curtains.
Then, I ushered Roxi into the kitchen. “No cupcakes.” If I wasn’t being paranoid, we needed to stick together. “Should I call Matt?”
“You’re really spooked, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how much is healthy intuition and what is paranoia after the car bomb and Townsend’s death.”
“The barista cop is dead?”
“I found her body myself.” I put my hands over Roxi’s ears. “We shouldn’t discuss this in front of her.”
Roxi pulled away from me and climbed on a chair to stare out the window. “Go outside.”
“Not right now.” I sat her on the floor. “Let me get your Legos.”
“No.” She raced for the living room and yanked the curtains open.
I had no idea how to deal with this behavior. “Roxi, I said no, and I meant it. Settle down or I’ll have to put you in the naughty chair.” I chose Mom’s floral wing chair.
“Not that one. I read to her in that chair.” Mom removed a stack of books from a straight back chair we rarely used. “This is uncomfortable. Three minutes here should have her thinking.”
I doubted it, but sat her there anyway. “Don’t move until I say so or I’m telling Daddy.” What a wimp. I couldn’t handle a three-year-old. My hands throbbed, my head pounded, and I needed a nap in the worst way. “Want to take a nap?”
“No.” Roxi crossed her arms and pouted. “There’s a woman looking in the window.”
I whirled. Cheryl Miller stared in at us. She smiled and waved.
What now? I couldn’t very well pretend we weren’t home. “Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Call Matt please and tell him we have a visitor.” I held up a finger for Cheryl to wait and moved as slowly as possible to the front door. While I went, I slipped my cell phone into my cleavage. If taken, I doubted Cheryl would look there.
I glanced out the peephole. Dakota stood next to her with a gun pressed to his side.
“Open the door, Stormi, or I’ll shoot him. I have no use for a teenage boy. It’s the girl I want.”
A motherly instinct I didn’t know I had welled up in me. I’d do everything in my power to save Roxi. I glanced around the room.
Drat. I’d left my purse in the kitchen, and couldn’t very well leave my nephew out there with a maniac.
“Hide and go seek, Roxi.” I pasted on a grin and shoved her as far back in the closet under the stairs as possible. “Now hide while Grandma finds you. Shh.”
I took a deep breath and opened the front door. “You’re making a big mistake.”
She shoved past me. “You made the mistake when you butted your nose into my business. Where’s the child? I have nothing else in my life and have always wanted a little girl.”
I inched toward the kitchen.
“No, you don’t. Boy, sit on the sofa. Stormi, you stay in front of me or I’ll start shooting. A bullet might ricochet and hit the child where you’ve hidden her.”
I needed to stall Cheryl for the forty-five minutes it would take Matt to arrive. Impossible.
22
“Get the girl or this boy or your mother eats a bullet.” Cheryl pointed the gun at Dakota, then at Mom, who stood in the doorway with her cell phone.
Dakota glared at Cheryl from the couch. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.” She grinned with all the warmth of a shark. “Everyone in town says I’m crazy. What if they’re right?”
“Leave him alone.” I glanced around for a weapon, anything I could use to knock the gun from her hand.
“I’m not playing around, Stormi. Get. The. Girl. You can come along if you want, but know that by doing so, you won’t live to see the sunset. I surmise that your mother has called the cops. Whatever. I’ll be long gone with my new daughter. Let’s go. Now!”
I’d take my chances. Roxi wasn’t leaving the house without me.
“Found you.” I took my daughter by the hand and led her from the closet. “Let’s go for a ride with this lady, okay? We’ll get ice cream.”
Roxi eyed Cheryl with distrust. “I don’t like her.”
“You’d better like me,” Cheryl said. “I’m your new mommy.”
“No.” Roxi hugged my leg.
“Get her in the car.” Cheryl pointed the gun to the door. “We’ll take the Mustang. I’m almost out of gas. Hand me your purse.”
“Why?”
“So I can get the keys.” She shook her head. “I know you keep a gun in there. I’m not about to let you get it.”
Mom chucked my purse at her. It bounced off her head, but other than making her sway a bit, it had no effect.
“Y’all are getting on my nerves.” She yanked open the front door. “Unless you want to stay behind with a bullet in the leg, get that child in the car.”
I lifted Roxi and followed instructions. Somehow, someway, I’d get help. “Ben Haverson. Steak and Leather,” I said.
“What? That doesn’t make any sense. We’re not going to the bar.”
I prayed Mom got the hint as I buckled Roxi into the car seat, pretending to have trouble fitting one end into the other.
“You’re driving. Move.” She shoved me aside. “I’ll buckle her in. Remember…the gun will be pointed at the back of your head. If I have to shoot you, we’ll crash.”
I climbed behind the wheel with the intention of driving off without her, but the smart maniac climbed over Roxi’s seat instead of going around. Maybe she wasn’t as crazy as everyone thought.
“Drive east until I tell you to turn.”
I did as I was told, passing Susan Burnett who sta
red with open mouth on the sidewalk. Another crazy woman. At least I’d missed her visit. “You okay, Roxi?”
“Yes, mommy.”
“I’m your mommy now, silly dumpling.”
I stifled a gag, whether from revulsion or fear, maybe both, at Cheryl’s tone. As I drove, exactly five miles over the speed limit per my captor’s instructions, I tried to devise a plan that wouldn’t get me killed. I didn’t think Cheryl would hurt Roxi. Not with her wanting the child as her own. Me…I was expendable.
“Why did you kill Dixon?” I glanced in my rearview mirror.
“He was blackmailing Lance. My love told me that if his wife ever found out about me, he’d break it off.” She exhaled sharply. “He did anyway after I killed Dixon. Not that he knew it was me. Oh, no. I’m smarter than that.”
“But you were seen kissing Caldwell.”
“Aren’t you the nosy one? A gal has to make a living, you know. I needed another sugar daddy.” She twirled one of Roxi’s curls. “My daughter is beautiful. I’m going to teach her that men cannot be trusted.”
“They’re not all bad.”
“Shut up.”
I shrugged, figuring we needed a change of subject. “Why Jordyn Townsend? It was you, right? You’re missing a ruby earring.”
“You found it? I want it back. They were my mother’s.”
“I gave it to the cops.”
She whacked me on the shoulder with the butt of the gun. My right arm went numb. “I should shoot you right now. The earring is precious to me.”
“Don’t hit me again. If you do, I’ll ram this car into the nearest tree and pray Roxi’s car seat saves her.”
I heard the click of a seatbelt.
“As unsafe as speeding is, I insist you increase our speed. We’re being followed.”
I’d spotted the black sedan, too, and hoped it was friend rather than foe. I increased our speed another three miles per hour.
“Seriously?” Cheryl hit me again. “You drive like a grandma.”
“I can’t control the car if you keep hitting me. My arm is numb.”
“Your body is going to be numb if you don’t stop playing games. Lose that car.”
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 102