by Cindy Bell
“Don't take another step,” he growled. Suzie saw Louis standing a few feet away from them, his eyes filled with fear.
“Suzie, don't move,” Louis said as he froze where he stood. Suzie's heart began pounding. She didn't know exactly what was pressing against her neck but she could feel a point and knew that it had to be made out of metal. Her stomach churned as she wondered if these would be the last moments of her life.
“Get down,” Larry commanded Louis.
Louis slowly sank to his knees in the dirt driveway, his eyes locked to Suzie. “Larry, you don't have to do this,” Louis said. “This was all a misunderstanding. Obviously you had nothing to do with Warren Blasser's death. Nobody is going to send you back to prison.”
Suzie cringed as Larry laughed loudly beside her ear. “Oh yes, we'll all just shake hands and become the best of friends, right?” he shook his head. “Wrong.”
Suzie closed her eyes for a moment. She was trying to keep herself calm and her mind clear. She knew that losing focus at that moment would only cause her to make a big mistake.
“Larry, people know we're here,” she lied quietly. No one had any idea they were there. She hadn't even told Paul what she was up to. Jason wouldn't have any idea that she and Louis had decided to take matters into their own hands. They were alone with little hope of escape. “If you do this, you won't be going to prison for forgery, you'll be going to prison for murder. You were right, we don't have any proof that you killed Warren. But how do you think you're going to hide something like this?”
“You won't have to worry about that,” Larry replied with cruel amusement. “You'll be dead.”
He jerked her body hard to the right and began pulling her towards the door of the small house. “You too,” he said to Louis. “One wrong move and she's a goner.”
Louis looked helpless as he watched Larry drag Suzie. Reluctantly, he stood up and followed after them. Suzie knew that Louis was walking to his own demise. He was only cooperating in an attempt to protect her. He could have fled at any moment. She felt such gratitude towards him. She never would have expected that he would try so hard to protect her.
As Larry walked towards the door to the house, Suzie thought of the birthday party she would be missing. She wondered if Mary would be able to run Dune House on her own, or would she give it up to pursue other things? As Larry started to pull her into the house, she thought about Paul. He had pleaded with her to be cautious, and she hadn't listened. She knew that would be no comfort to him. He had been living a solitary life when she first met him. He had reached out of his comfort zone to be with her, she doubted that he would ever do that again. She hated to think of him living the rest of his life alone.
“Larry, please,” she whispered. “I've done nothing to you. I've never hurt you, just let us go.”
“Not a chance,” he barked in her ear. He seemed to be struggling with the door handle. Suzie met eyes with Louis. She held his gaze. When she knew he was paying attention to her and not Larry, she mouthed a word to him.
“Run!”
Louis shook his head slightly. Suzie mouthed it again. She knew that the moment they were all inside the house there would be no chance of either of them surviving. She didn't want Louis to sacrifice himself for her. Louis hesitated again. She closed her eyes for a moment. She felt Larry finally get the door open. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes.
“Go,” she hissed. “Please!”
Louis grimaced, and then abruptly darted towards the edge of the yard.
“Get back here!” Larry shouted. “She's dead now, she's dead!” he said and Suzie felt the tip of whatever weapon he was using digging into the skin of her neck. She felt tears in her eyes. She had hoped that maybe Larry would be so startled by Louis' escape that he would loosen his grip on her, but he didn't. He was shouting and cursing at Louis, but he was still holding Suzie tightly. Suzie knew in the next second they would be in the house. There was no way Louis would be able to get help in time.
“Let her go,” a voice growled from just behind both of them. Suddenly, Suzie realized why Larry was having so much trouble getting into the house. Someone inside the house was holding the door shut.
“Who are you?” Larry growled and tugged Suzie back away from the door.
“It doesn't matter who I am,” the person replied. “All that matters is that I am the one with the gun.”
Suzie gasped at the word. She also recognized the voice. Her eyes filled with tears. She tilted her head to the side so that she could see Mary standing in the doorway. Not only was she glaring at Larry, she was pointing what appeared to be a very real gun directly at him.
“Like you even know how to use it,” Larry chuckled. “Just put the gun down, or this screwdriver goes into her pretty little neck,” Larry threatened. Mary raised an eyebrow. Then she released the safety on the gun. Suzie felt Larry shudder at the subtle click of the safety being released.
“All right, all right,” he mumbled and hesitantly lowered the screwdriver. Suzie felt a brief sense of relief. Then Larry roared and abruptly shoved Suzie directly at Mary, who was still pointing the gun at Larry. Suzie stumbled and fell into Mary's arms. Mary managed to lower the gun before the collision.
Suzie was so startled by being shoved it took her a moment to gain her composure. Suzie glanced around for Larry but it seemed as if he was long gone. “I guess he got away,” she sighed and shook her head. “Mary, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here, you saved my life!”
She turned to see a police car screaming into the driveway of the house. Jason nearly tripped as he jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop. He had his weapon drawn as he ran towards the two women.
“Are you okay?” he shouted as he skidded to a stop a few feet from them. His partner, Kirk, was running right behind him.
“We're okay,” Suzie said. “But Larry took off into the woods,” she pointed into the woods. Jason lifted his eyes from where Suzie was pointing to Mary, who was still nervously holding the gun in her hand. Jason cautiously moved closer to her.
“Give me that gun, Mary,” he said as calmly as he could. Suzie could hear the tension in his voice.
“It’s not loaded,” Mary said as she offered him the gun carefully. Suzie sighed with relief at the realization that it wasn’t loaded. Jason held the gun and then he turned to Kirk.
“Go after him,” he said tilting his head towards the woods. Kirk's eyes lingered on the gun for a moment, but he slowly nodded. He took off at a fast run into the woods. Suzie continued to hold tightly to Mary.
“Is this your gun, Mary?” Jason asked as he studied her intently.
Mary shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Not exactly,” she replied hesitantly.
“Mary?” Suzie asked with surprise. “Where did you get it from?”
“I'd rather not say,” Mary replied with a grimace.
Jason narrowed his eyes. He opened the chamber to ensure it wasn’t loaded then he handed the gun back to Mary.
“Jason, I…” Mary started to say.
“Not another word,” he warned her sharply. “I don't want to know whose weapon it is. As far as I'm concerned there was never a weapon here.”
Mary looked down shamefully and tucked the gun into her purse that hung at her side.
“What about Kirk?” Suzie asked nervously.
“I'll take care of Kirk,” Jason assured her. Just then Kirk radioed Jason to let him know that he had found Larry in the woods. “Is the suspect injured?” he asked.
“No,” Kirk's voice came back over the radio. He paused a moment before adding. “Says the ladies have a gun, but I didn’t see one.”
Jason nodded and smiled a little. “Me neither,” he replied.
“The two of you, just don’t mention the gun,” Jason warned them.
Mary nodded soundlessly. Suzie smiled faintly with appreciation. She knew that Jason was trying to protect them from getting into trou
ble for being in possession of a weapon that they didn’t own. As Jason jogged off into the woods to assist Kirk with Larry, Suzie looked over at her friend.
“It's over now, Mary,” she said soothingly.
“I was so scared,” Mary sighed.
“I know, so was I,” Suzie admitted. “How did you get in the house? How did you even know I was here? More importantly, whose gun is that?” Suzie demanded.
“I think I need to sit down,” Mary said as she sank down onto the first step of the small porch of the house.
“Okay,” Suzie said softly. “Louis must have called Jason when he ran. But I still don't understand, how did you know we were here?”
Mary shook her head. “I know you too well, Suzie.”
“What does that mean?” Suzie asked with confusion.
“It means I knew that you were up to something. I could tell that you were trying to keep me out of it. Which meant that it had to be pretty dangerous. So, when you left with Louis, I followed you. I parked a few houses down and was walking through the backyards so you wouldn't see me. That's when I saw you with Larry. I was behind the house so I tried his back door, and it was open. I walked through the house, and that's when I saw him holding that screwdriver at your neck. I knew that if he got you inside he would hurt you, so I was holding the door shut. When I saw Louis run, I knew that I had to act fast, because Larry was going to panic.”
“I told Louis to run,” Suzie said gently. “He tried to protect me.”
“I know you did,” Mary sighed. “Always trying to save others.”
“Not this time,” Suzie pointed out. “This time you saved me. But I still don't understand whose gun this is?” she asked.
Mary grimaced, “Wes questioned Gerald and found out about Larry, he told me what he had found out about Larry's past and that he suspected there was a connection between Larry and Warren, which led him to believe that Larry really was involved with Warren's death. I knew that it was going to be dangerous, and I knew that you and Louis were going to get in the middle of it. I also knew where Wes kept his extra weapon…”
“This is Wes’ gun?” Suzie asked with a gasp. “Does he know you have it?”
“No, absolutely not, he would be furious if he knew. I made sure it wasn’t loaded when I got it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone I just wanted to protect you,” Mary shook her head. “I'm very lucky that Jason didn't take it. Then Wes would be in trouble, too.”
“You took a lot of risks, Mary,” Suzie admonished. “You could have been hurt or killed!”
“This from the woman who was being held hostage by a murderer?” Mary demanded as she looked into her friend's eyes. “I know that you think I've lived a sheltered life as a wife and mother, Suzie, while you've been out doing adventurous things. But when it comes to you, there is no way I am going to hesitate to do what I have to do to protect you.”
Suzie smiled warmly at her words. “I appreciate that, Mary,” she said as she hugged Mary again. “You're right. I didn't want you to get in the middle of all of this. But it's not because I think you're sheltered. It's your birthday, I just wanted it to be a special time for you.”
“Well, I held a gun,” Mary laughed a little.
“Not a word,” Jason warned as he and Kirk emerged from the woods with Larry handcuffed between them. Kirk swept his gaze over the two women. His expression was stoney. Suzie still wasn't sure that he could be trusted, but he didn't seem to be asking about the weapon, and he was the one that said he hadn’t seen a gun.
“I guess you'll be going back to prison after all, Larry,” Suzie said smugly. “For a much longer time, this time.”
Larry scowled at her. Kirk led him to the police car and guided him into the back seat. Louis appeared from the bushes beside the driveway. Only then did Suzie realize he had never really left. He had only hidden.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked as he walked up to Suzie and Mary.
“We will be,” Suzie promised him. “Thanks to you calling the police,” she added.
“I didn't know what else to do,” Louis admitted.
“You did exactly the right thing, Louis,” Mary said.
“Jason, we better get him down to the station,” Kirk said as he rapped lightly on the roof of the police car. Jason glanced over at him and nodded. When he looked back at Suzie and Mary he frowned.
“I'm going to need statements from all of you,” he said grimly. “Do you want me to get another car to bring you down to the station?”
“No, I'm okay to drive,” Suzie said. “Jason, Larry is the one who killed Warren Blasser. I think he did it by throwing pistachio shells at his window until he came out onto the balcony. He must have removed the screws from the balcony earlier in the day,” she pointed to the screwdriver that was laying on the ground nearby. “I imagine that is what he used. If you search his car you might even find the screws.”
“I don't think you need to worry about it,” Jason said. “I'm sure he'll confess in exchange for a shorter sentence. But I will have his house, car, and property searched for any further evidence,” he started to turn away. Then slowly he turned back to face her. “Suzie, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you straight away. I should have looked into everything more deeply from the start.”
“It's okay, Jason,” Suzie said. “You were just doing your job. There was nothing to indicate that anything sinister was going on in the beginning.”
Jason nodded and then headed off to the police car. Louis sat down on the step beside the two women.
“I think I like being a librarian much better than being a detective,” he said grimly. “My heart is still racing.”
“Don't worry, soon you'll be back in the nice, safe, quiet library,” Mary said with a slight laugh.
“I can't wait,” Louis admitted.
“At least you got your book back,” Suzie pointed out.
“And as least we cleared Gerald's name as a murderer,” Mary stated.
“Yes, Richard would be happy about that,” Louis said wistfully. “Gerald might not have been honest, but he was not a murderer.”
“We better get going,” Suzie said. “Jason will be expecting us. Mary, I think you better call Wes and tell him the truth about his weapon.”
“He's going to be so angry,” Mary cringed.
“Maybe,” Suzie agreed. “But if he has to report one of his weapons missing he's going to be in a lot more trouble with his boss. Better to tell him the truth, just in case anything comes up later.”
“I guess,” Mary nodded.
“Let's get you home,” Suzie said and hugged her friend. “Tomorrow is your birthday.”
“It is, isn't it?” Mary asked with a vague smile.
“I'm glad to hear that you and Wes are talking,” Suzie said hesitantly. She still wasn't sure if she should tell Mary what she had seen in the bar.
“Me, too,” Mary admitted with a girlish smile. It was that smile that made Suzie keep her mouth shut.
Chapter Fourteen
Suzie and Mary spent the rest of the afternoon fielding interviews by Jason and Kirk, as well as sharing quite a bit of wine. Suzie was fairly sure that there wasn't enough wine in the world to take away the memory of that screwdriver pushed against the side of her neck. When she finally crawled into bed, Suzie felt as if she could sleep for a century. She was finally able to rest, now that she knew Warren's killer was behind bars, and that it wasn't a faulty railing that had killed him. She could only hope that would be enough to save the reputation of Dune House. She fell asleep with plans for regaining the community's trust floating through her mind.
It seemed like a cruel joke when Suzie’s alarm began buzzing. She slapped the button to quiet it down. Then she yawned as she stretched out in her bed. She was awake, but did not really want to get up. After the incident the day before, she was savoring the ability to just relax. Then slowly reality began to creep into her sleepy mind. Not only was there no time to relax as party preparations had to be made, Ben
jamin and Catherine would be arriving in just a few hours.
Suzie suddenly jumped up out of bed. She rushed around her room getting dressed and searching for the lists she had made of party information. One list was for supplies. Another list was for guests. The last list was for the errands she would have to run in order to get everything she needed that day. Just about everything depended on Mary being out of the house. Originally, Suzie had intended to let Wes handle that for her, but since they weren't exactly on speaking terms, she wasn't sure if that was going to happen. She felt a little worried as she padded out into the kitchen. She hoped that Mary might be sleeping in. The scent of fresh coffee indicated that she was not.
“Mary?” Suzie called out. She didn't see her in the kitchen or the dining room. Suzie frowned and then helped herself to a cup of coffee. She thought perhaps Mary had gone for an early morning walk along the beach. She walked over to the side door off the dining room that led onto the beach.
When Suzie stepped out onto the porch, she noticed Mary's robe tossed on the back of one of the lounge chairs. She thought it was a little odd as Mary usually dressed before she went out onto the porch. There was also a cup of coffee, half full on the table in front of the chair. Beside it was a newspaper. Suzie noticed that it was turned to an article about Larry and his involvement in Warren Blasser's death. To Suzie's relief the article did not mention the location of the crime. She was sure that Paul had something to do with that as he knew everyone worth knowing in the town, and he had likely called in a few favors to protect Dune House. Suzie was pleased to see that Warren would be getting his justice, even though it still saddened her to think of him.
Suzie’s mind was distracted by the fact that Mary was missing. She couldn't imagine her friend walking along the beach in her pajamas, birthday or not, Mary was much more modest than that. Suzie began walking around the wraparound porch in search of her friend.