by Ella White
“Excellent. I’m going to call the chief and let her know the plan. Make sure the killer can still see you inside.”
“No problem.”
“Are you absolutely sure you’re okay being bait to catch the killer?” The worry in Vickie’s voice was palpable. “I don’t want anything to happen to you because of me.”
“Hey, I said I’d do it, didn’t I?” Amy answered. “And besides, this is the most excitement this town as seen in a while! It’s like we’re part of one of the mysteries we read all the time!”
“Okay. Just keep safe. Run if you need to. I’m calling Chief Miles right now.”
Chapter 9
It was a little surreal to go to The Bookworm’s Hovel, considering Anthony Lee had died just behind it the night before last.
It was a lovely little bookstore large enough to carry many of the common books found in other stores but small enough to give it a cozy atmosphere. There was a single glass door at the front and huge windows showing the inside of the store. The wooden bookcases were a deep mahogany color, and there was not a single spare space on any shelf. Some areas were sectioned off and filled with various comfy chairs and beanbags, acting as a reading area. Amy was proud of the idea of allowing space for people to read the books without absolutely needing to purchase them. This resulted in The Bookworm’s Hovel being one of the most popular stores in town, and even across a few towns.
“Are you okay, Rachel?” Vickie asked her daughter. “This is where Anthony…well…”
“I’m fine.” She took a breath. “Or I will be, once the killer arrives and is caught.”
“You’re sure this plan will work?” Susan inquired from the driver’s seat in the car. “I’ve done stakeouts before, but they were never intentional like this.”
“I promise it’ll work,” Vickie reassured her. “See Amy behind the counter?”
Susan looked, seeing the blond woman standing behind the counter, pretending to be setting up a few magazines. “Of course I see her.”
“The killer is going to want to take Amy out of the picture, since he or she believes Amy knows who the killer is,” Vickie explained. “So all you have to do is wait for the killer to show up and arrest him or her.”
“How will I know who it actually is?” Susan asked with a doubtful twist of her lips.
“Amy’s already sent everyone home, and the store is closed,” Vickie resumed. “So anyone who goes inside, either from the front or back, must be who we’re looking for.”
Susan sighed but waited. “You know the only reason I’m going along with this is because we haven’t had a real lead in this case.”
“That’s good enough for us.” Vickie turned back to watch the bookstore. “We just need to be patient.”
The trio remained in Susan’s police car for a while. The chief occasionally checked with the other three cars she had ordered to be stationed around the bookshop, making sure every major street was covered. If this plan was going to work and the murderer was going to show up at The Bookworm’s Hovel, Chief Miles didn’t want to give him or her a chance to escape.
About half an hour passed before anything happened. Rachel was focused on the alleyway leading to the back of the store. It was down that way that Anthony was killed, and she was going to find out who did it once and for all. As such, she was the one who spotted a person in loose black jeans and an oversized gray hoodie. The hood was up, so she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. The person carried a large black duffle bag thrown over a shoulder, and whoever this was, he or she was heading toward that very alley leading to the back.
Rachel jumped up from her seat, almost knocking her head on the roof in the process. “Look! Someone’s there!”
Susan immediately perked up and looked towards the alleyway. Sure enough there was someone there, slinking away into the shadows and apparently trying to stay out of sight. The chief of police jumped out of the car, grabbing her walkie-talkie in one hand and her gun in the other.
“Everyone converge on The Bookworm’s Hovel,” she commanded into the radio. “At the alley going to the back. Suspect is behind the bookstore.”
Vickie and Rachel both leapt out of the police car to follow, but once they caught up with Susan at the entrance to the alleyway, the policewoman held up a hand to stop them.
“Both of you stay here. I don’t want two civilians hurt in the middle of this.”
“But this is where—” Rachel began.
“Where Anthony was killed, I understand,” Susan consoled her. “But we are looking for justice, not revenge. I need you to wait just a little longer.”
Rachel growled in her throat.
“She’s right, Rachel.” Vickie put a hand on her shoulder. “It won’t help to jump into this. You don’t know if this person is armed or what he can do. Please, leave this to the chief.”
The young woman growled again, but eventually she nodded and stepped back to let the police do their work. A few more officers joined Chief Miles as they headed into the alleyway, guns at the ready. Susan led the group, making sure they stayed behind cover just in case the criminal had a weapon of his or her own. She spotted the person crouched in front of the back door’s knob, fiddling with it in an attempt to pick the lock.
Susan immediately stepped forward and pointed her gun. “Stop what you’re doing and put your hands in the air!”
The disguised person froze and spun to face the police. The person did as commanded and dropped the lock picks and the duffle bag. The other officers kept their guns pointed on the criminal as Susan reached for her handcuffs. After making sure the killer’s hands were safely restrained, she pulled down the hood, revealing a woman with short brown hair and gray eyes.
“Vickie! Rachel! You can come now,” Susan called to the women as she held the perpetrator still.
Mother and daughter approached from around the corner and saw who was trying to break into Amy’s store. Vickie’s eyes widened.
“Kate?!”
The woman in question just sneered and said nothing. She watched as one of the policemen grabbed the duffle bag and began to look through it. He pulled a pair of gardening shears out.
“Chief, check this out,” he said. After the shears were out of the bag, he stuck his hand in to pull something else out. It was another origami bird. “And this too.”
“Well this doesn’t look suspicious at all,” Susan said, her tone sarcastic for the first time Vickie had ever heard. “Let’s see if we can find traces of tea on that one as well.”
“I was worried it was you, Kate,” Rachel whispered. “You killed Anthony, but it’s clear it was just to get to your boss. Why?”
“Fine! Fine,” Kate yapped. “I admit I set him up to take the fall for that man’s death. I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice,” Susan reprimanded her.
“No. There was no choice!” Kate insisted. “He was running me into the ground! I have no time to eat or sleep! It’s always what he wanted, when he wanted it!”
“I asked you before and I’ll as you again,” Rachel hissed through her teeth. “Why didn’t you just quit?”
“I wanted to! I wanted to leave and write my own books, but Bell always threatened to ruin me if I did!” Kate struggled a bit against the handcuffs, but Susan swiftly put her in her place. “He said he would spread rumors about me in the publishing world so that I’d never be able to release a best seller of my own!”
“Aren’t you doing the same thing to him by framing him for murder?” Vickie asked. “He could’ve received the death penalty!”
“An eye for an eye, as the saying goes,” Kate continued. “And I already told you, he’s wealthy enough to get the best lawyers. It’s not like he would’ve died. He would’ve gotten out, but his career would be ruined. Either way, I win.”
“So Anthony…” Rachel returned to the topic of her dead boyfriend. “Why him? Was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“Pretty much.
I needed someone nobody would miss but would still lead to Bell’s arrest.”
Rachel lunged forward, her fist raised to punch her, but another officer held her back.
“Miss, I don’t want to have to arrest you for assault!” he said, looking over his shoulder at Kate. “Off the record, though, I don’t blame you for feeling that way.”
“It would have been worth it if you hadn’t gotten involved!” Kate exclaimed. “It’s not like Bell doesn’t deserve it! He’s an arrogant prick who deserves to be knocked down a few pegs, at the very least!”
“Enough of this,” Susan declared seriously. “We’re all going down to the station. Now.”
Kate continued to struggle against her cuffs as Susan led her to the car.
It didn’t take long for official charges to be laid against Kate, and she was quickly put in jail to await trial. Unlike Harrison Bell, she couldn’t afford the best lawyer, so the chances of her going to jail for life were pretty high. Rachel decided she needed some time to write out the whole story. After she conducted an interview with Chief Miles, who was happy to give a statement to the press, Rachel headed to the Carriage Cove Chronicle office to finish the project.
Vickie, meanwhile, stayed in the waiting room of the police station. Tyler had followed her there, and he sat in the chair next to her as she waited.
“I won’t even ask how you got here, buddy,” she joked to the cat. Tyler meowed in response.
The chief had told her that they of course had no reason to hold Harrison Bell now, so he was going to be released as soon as possible. Harrison stretched as he left the interrogation room and came to the lobby, where he spotted the older woman waiting for him.
“Hello, Mrs. Matheson,” he greeted, taking her hands eagerly to shake them. “Thank you so much for your help. I’m sure I would have been released eventually, but it warms my heart to know a fan of mystery novels like you wanted to help so much.”
“Of course, Mr. Bell. I couldn’t just leave someone falsely accused of murder,” Vickie replied. “A little bit of advice though? Go easier on your assistants in the future? I’m sure you don’t want this kind of thing to happen again.”
Harrison laughed loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the station, and Vickie stared at him in shock.
“Oh don’t worry you’re pretty head, Mrs. Matheson,” he reassured her. “I’m untouchable.”
With that, Harrison lifted his chin high as he strode out of the station, leaving Vickie to stare after him in his wake. Tyler walked up to her and meowed before looking pointedly at the author.
“I know, Tyler,” she said with a sigh. “I guess some people never learn.”
* * *
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