The Trouble With Murder

by Catherine Nelson

  If Ellmann had been willing to use whatever he’d found in her room as leverage simply to get her to move out, I didn’t think he’d suddenly be compelled to arrest her. So I didn’t ask him if he had. But I thought I knew who had.

  “Did Koepke arrest her?”

  Another nod. “Yeah.”

  “So . . . he connected her to Pezzani?”

  Only a small part of me questioned what Ellmann had done with the information he had about my mother. Small as it was, I still needed to know.

  He leaned forward and clutched my hand, imploring me. “Zoe, I never said a word to anyone about what I found in her room when I searched it. I told you, Koepke is a good investigator. He made the connections on his own. Once he did, he got a search warrant, found everything she had stashed anyway.”

  “There was still something to find?”

  “Of course. I found it, but I didn’t take it. I couldn’t have all that shit on me. The best way for me to use it was to leave it there, let her think everything was fine, then confront her, threaten her. That’s all it would have been good for, because the day I’d found it, we were looking for connections between you and Stacy.”

  Ellmann was slightly more devious than I’d previously given him credit for. I liked it.

  I nodded. “Sorry. I . . . it’s the drugs. I’m not thinking straight.”

  He shrugged his uninjured shoulder lightly. “I know you don’t totally trust me yet,” he said, kissing my hand again. “Just give me time to prove you can.”

  I squeezed his hand. “I’m trying, believe me.” My voice was a soft whisper.

  After a moment, Ellmann shifted slightly in his chair and redirected our conversation.

  “So, have you put it all together yet?”

  I nodded. “When I saw Tina Shuemaker, a lot of pieces fell into place. The rest came when I saw Officer Pratt in the clearing after the Tahoe had rolled over. I am curious, did you ever find Tyler Jay?”

  “He wasn’t involved in this, surprisingly.”

  “No, I know. But still, did you find him?” I studied his face. Then I smiled. “Ah, you did, didn’t you? Where was he? Was he at his mom’s?” Another subtle change. “He was, wasn’t he? I knew it.” I shook my head and laughed. “It’s nice to hear that’s over.”

  “Aren’t you going to ask about the reward money?”

  “No. I’m past that. By the end, it was just about catching him. I suppose that’s ultimately what got me in trouble.”

  “I told you going after him was dangerous.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. But who else do you know has tracked down Tyler Jay three times?”

  “I’ll give you that,” he conceded.

  “Saturday, after I’d been ‘fired’ again, I decided to take another crack at finding Tyler. I was sitting at his mom’s house when Bilek’s Honda drove by. I followed it to the Motel 6. But it had been a ruse to lure me to the motel. While I was sitting in the Waffle House, Tyler’s friend Paul called his friend Tina. Tina ordered someone to come to the Waffle House. I guess we were there a while because it took that long for someone to go home and get his bad-guy uniform then report for duty. While I was watching the motel, someone climbed into the back of the truck. The lock’s been busted for a year, and I’ve never fixed it.

  “Anyway, I saw Tyler and Paul leave the motel room, and I’d been so focused on following them, I hadn’t noticed I wasn’t alone. Plus, the stowaway was on the floor, behind the seats. When I parked at Stacy’s house, the stowaway slipped out and proceeded with the initial kidnap attempt. Of course, when I didn’t cooperate, Tina had to come in with her stun gun.”

  I rubbed my hand over my neck and felt the two small burns left by the stun gun.

  “I knew you were going to call the tip line,” Ellmann said. “So I had someone listen to the messages. We got yours right away, but by the time I got to Stacy’s house, you were gone.”

  “Where were you headed when Rita got in touch with you?”

  “To the cabin where you were initially held. When I went back through Tyler Jay’s file, I found a connection to the club Pezzani had once co-owned. There was also a list of known associates. When I ran through the list, I found Paul Dortch also had a connection to that club, and to Pezzani specifically. The only reason I started looking into Pezzani with any real intent was because I didn’t like him. From the first night I met him, I thought he was a prick. Then I turned up the cabin that belonged to Pezzani, left to him by his uncle, Paul Dortch Senior.”

  “You know, I thought they looked similar. Not quite brothers, but a family resemblance.”

  “Cousins. Anyway, the cabin was fairly remote, and it seemed like as good a place as any to take a kidnapped victim. While dozens of other units checked out dozens of other places, Koepke and I headed to the mountains.”

  “Pezzani and Tina Shuemaker were an item.”

  Ellmann nodded. “I went back over the security-camera footage from the Elizabeth building around the time of Stacy’s attack, focusing primarily on the exterior shots. I found a few seconds in which Tina was unmasked, walking toward the building. After the attack, there was a very clear shot of her getting into a red Mustang. I ran the plate, and it came back registered to Pezzani. That started to connect a lot of dots for me.”

  “I never liked that car.”

  He gave a small chuckle.

  “Tina had begun dispensing ecstasy with the food to her customers at the Olive Garden,” I said, “which helps explain how her place was so well furnished and she was always so well-dressed. My guess is she’d gotten Stacy involved in the same thing. The fight they’d had in the kitchen not long before Stacy was attacked was probably about Tyler finding out. He’d made a comment to me about Stacy being a goody two-shoes. I think his feelings for her were genuine, and while he’s a bad guy, he didn’t want her to become a bad girl because of him. He probably would have been angry if he’d known she was selling drugs.”

  I realized now, Tina had recognized me from Elizabeth Tower the day I’d shown up at her door. That’s why she’d been so weird. She’d been trying to figure out how I’d gotten on to her, what I knew, what I was trying to figure out, and above all, she’d wanted to put me on to someone else, like the criminal boyfriend Tyler Jay. I’d been right when I’d speculated the attacker in the lobby would surely recognize me if I waltzed up to their door, but I hadn’t anticipated that person being so good a liar and thinking so quickly on his or her feet.

  “Rather than risk Tyler finding out, Stacy would have quit,” I went on. “I think Tina threatened to tell Tyler what had been going on if Stacy backed out. That’s what they were fighting about. I think that’s also why Stacy was in such a hurry to move out. She was done with Tina and the drug business. And she likely planned to tell Tyler herself after she was out rather than risk him finding out from someone else.

  “But Tina couldn’t have that. Pezzani’s business was already in jeopardy. With Tyler Jay being at the top of the Most Wanted list, the last thing they needed was someone a step away from being caught possessing information worth trading for. So Tina followed Stacy to her meeting with me. And their attack was well planned; they’d even sent someone into my office to delay me. I’d recognized the guy among the cronies at the cabin.

  “On the security video, when Stacy turned around, it was as if she knew the person behind her. It was only after seeing that person in a ski mask that she was afraid. But those stab wounds didn’t kill Stacy, so Tina had to finish the job. The day Stacy went into cardiac arrest, you told me you’d run into Tina at the hospital. An air bubble injected into the IV line would have been enough to cause a heart attack. But Stacy survived that, too. So Tina had to try again. The second time I went to the hospital, I ran into Tina as she was leaving. A couple minutes later, Stacy was dead. I suspect that time she used some sort of poison.”

  Ellmann nodded. “Sort of. Tina’s a biology major. Somehow she managed to get her hands on a big dose of potassium. It was
enough to cause another cardiac disturbance, which was more than sufficient to kill Stacy in her fragile state.”

  “It was also Tina who killed Derrick Bilek,” I said. “Derrick had probably gotten mixed up in Pezzani’s business somehow and was a part of the ‘mess’ he’d talked about needing to clean up. I was supposed to be the fall guy. Pezzani had helped me move the day before, so he knew where I lived. All he had to do was tell Tina. Then, while I was out to dinner with Pezzani, Tina and Bilek went to the house. Tina shot him, and we found him later.”

  “Bilek had been a bouncer at Pezzani’s club. After the club closed, he worked ‘security’ for the raves they threw around the area.”

  “As the fall guy, I was supposed to shoot the people Pezzani needed dead. The most efficient way he thought to do that would be to have them try to kill me. Then I would kill them in self-defense, a situation the police don’t really look into. Pezzani needed a public attempt on my life, something like at a restaurant. I think the best shooter Pezzani had was Pratt, a cop who had some training and lots of practice. He couldn’t have just anyone come into that restaurant and shoot at me, because, one, he would be right beside me, and, two, I couldn’t actually get shot. Any marksman will tell you it takes skill to hit a target and even more skill to miss. After the restaurant, Tina took Pengue to Pezzani’s house, where Pengue was under the impression they were there to kill me. Of course, I shot and killed Pengue. I also hit Tina.”

  “You did. The coroner noted a flesh wound on her left arm. Initial blood testing indicates it was her blood we found on the stairs.”

  “Margaret Fischer must have been killed because she interrupted something, saw something she shouldn’t have. She’d gone to the house after work to assess the damage, but I’m guessing Pezzani was there. He was trying to set me up as the fall guy, so I’m thinking he went there to find a weapon, which he did. It was a stroke of seriously bad luck he had to kill Fischer and leave the gun there to incriminate me. It would have taken him more than a few minutes to get that lockbox open.”

  “He told us Pratt had looked up your registrations. He knew you had a handful of guns registered to you. He was more than a little pissed off he only found one of them and then had to leave it behind.”

  “Having a cop in the inner circle would go a long way in helping Pezzani stay ahead of the police. Plus, it also meant he got access to all sorts of information, like my history. And, I’m guessing it was how Tyler managed to stay one step ahead of you guys every time I tipped you to his location. Pezzani didn’t care if Tyler got pinched, but timing was everything. If Tyler got picked up too early, it would have affected his plan.”

  “Pratt tipped off Paul, who spent most his time with Tyler. The coroner said Pratt had levels of X in his system when he died, and rather significant damage to his brain, thought to be the result of prolonged usage of the drug. Pezzani was likely blackmailing Pratt into cooperation after learning of his drug problem. X wasn’t the only thing Pratt liked, apparently.”

  “Really? He was a decent shot. Think how great he could have been sober.”

  “Probably a good thing he wasn’t, then.”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  Although, it was a little unsettling to think he’d been high when he shot up the restaurant that day. Especially since I’d been in the restaurant.

  “Speaking of, I’d still like to know what happened to my mother.”

  “When she was arrested last week, she’d been at one of Pezzani’s raves. And the X I found in her room had the same stamps as the stuff Pezzani is known to distribute. Now that we have Pezzani, he’s doing some talking, trying to buy himself a better deal. He gave her up.”

  Like any other bad guy making lots of money doing something illegal, Pezzani couldn’t just deposit his ecstasy profits into the bank. It had to look like it was coming from somewhere legit. This was where my mother came in. It would have been nothing for her to take Pezzani’s money, run it through a couple legit businesses, and make it all look like he’d earned it on the up-and-up. And in her compromised mental state, she’d somehow aligned herself as Pezzani’s partner. But, sound decision-making has never been her strong suit.

  And, for once, the cops had been telling the truth: not even Bridget Grey’s sliver-tongued lawyer could slither her out of trouble this time.

  “Zoe? You have that look again, the happiest-kid-in-the-world look.”

  I realized I was still in the hospital, still sitting with Ellmann. I’d forgotten myself for a moment. I’d been daydreaming about my mother in a bright orange jumpsuit, living behind bars for the next fifteen years. I realize for most children, such a thought would be sad or scary. For me, it was a huge relief.

  “Sorry,” I said. “Hey, how’s Koepke? He still mad at me?”

  “He’s fine. He’s still drowning in paperwork, but he’ll survive. He’s only a little bit mad at you.”

  I scoffed. “He should be thanking me. I blew his case wide open.”

  “You became the number one suspect in two homicides, blew off a homicide detective, got yourself kidnapped, and proceeded to take your show on the road, leading a band of murderous drug dealers through the mountains during a record-setting rainstorm for more than thirty miles while trying to bleed to death. Eighteen people are dead. When I think about it like that, I realize I should be mad at you. I’ve never been so scared.”

  “Okay,” I conceded. The guilt I felt was almost entirely the result of Ellmann; I didn’t want him to worry about me. “Maybe I was a tiny bit reckless. I see that now.”

  Annoyance flashed in his eyes.

  “It’s the best you’ll get,” I said softly.

  “Is there any point asking you to promise you won’t do anything like that ever again?”

  I wanted to say yes. But I didn’t have the heart to lie to him. I had no plans to ever repeat any part of what had just happened to me, but I knew my ability to wind up in big trouble better than anyone. It was too risky to rule anything out.

  “Probably not.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

  He kissed my hand again, then sat holding it tight between his, as if he might never let it go.

  30

  The following day, I was discharged from the hospital and Ellmann drove me home. Or, he drove me to his place, as I was temporarily homeless. I spent the afternoon napping and watching TV. In the middle of the night, I woke up sprawled across the sofa, covered with a blanket. I swallowed a couple more pain pills then shuffled off to the bedroom, where I crawled in bed beside Ellmann.

  Ellmann had taken a week off. He assured me he had plenty of personal time, but I figured part of his reason for the vacation was needing time to recover from the stress of worrying about me, which had likely driven him dangerously close to a stroke. I knew Ellmann had been seriously wounded once before in the line of duty, but it had been little ol’ me that had almost done him in. Go figure.

  Wednesday, I switched to Tylenol. My left shoulder was horribly bruised, the deep black and purple coloring spreading from the middle of my arm to the base of my neck, and down my chest and back. I’d been right when I’d guessed the sutures had pulled loose. In fact, every last one of them had been. Dr. Allen had had to repair the wound again when he’d gone in to tend to the bullet hole in my thigh.

  My leg wasn’t nearly so bruised, and, as a result, it was far less tender, though I still walked with a limp. I was fortunate that bullet, like the other, had missed everything vital. Actually, Allen had said it was the blood loss that had been the most dangerous for me. If I had been any longer getting to a hospital, my ending would have been much different.

  Thursday afternoon, Ellmann took me to run a few errands. We stopped by King Soopers, and I picked up my one and only paycheck. Hobby Lobby had already mailed me theirs. Then we went to Fort Collins Property Management. The snooty little receptionist appeared much more reserved today. When I got a bit closer, I could see her eyes were bloodshot. She had taken
the loss of Margaret Fischer hard.

  “Cindy Grogan took over your account,” she said, reaching for the phone. “She’s in her office; let me see if she has a few minutes.”

  A moment later, the girl hung up the phone, and a nearby office door opened. A petite woman with short, curly blonde hair and brown eyes walked up to me. She was wearing heels and a gray skirt suit. I guessed her to be in her forties. After shaking my hand and Ellmann’s, she led us back to her office.

  “I’m really sorry about Margaret,” I said sincerely. I hadn’t liked her, but I didn’t wish her dead.

  “Thank you. Margaret was a very passionate woman. She will be missed. Now, I’ve read the notes on your account, but I think I’d like to hear from you what’s going on.”

  I explained the situation to her. She asked a few questions, took lots of notes, and then when I was finished, she set her glasses on the desk and leaned back in her chair, looking between me and Ellmann.

  “I’d like to suggest we charge you a weekly rental fee, pro-rated, of course, to cover the partial second week. As these circumstances were beyond your control, I see no justifiable cause to hold any of your deposit.” She reached for a prepared document and laid it on the desk in front me. “If you’re agreeable to the weekly rental charge, this would be your balance. The difference,” she said, reaching into her drawer and withdrawing a check, “would be refunded.”

  I stared down at the check. It was most of the money I had paid to the management company. Making out better than I had dared to dream, I quickly agreed, signing the paperwork and tucking the check into my pocket before she could change her mind. We shook hands, and I left.

  Next, we stopped by the bank. Ellmann parked, and I reached for the door handle.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said.

  He leaned over and opened the glove box, withdrawing a small note. He handed it to me.

  “What’s this?”

  I unfolded it and saw it wasn’t a note. It was a check. The check was made out to me in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars. I knew my eyes were wide when I turned to Ellmann.