“Ouch, harsh,” Braden winced.
“Keaton said the same thing. I don’t know; maybe Bernie is right. It has been a very stressful two weeks. Maybe I am just projecting all my fears onto Richard Fox because I just want this to be over. But…”
“But what?” Sydney handed me a Dr Pepper, which I took gratefully.
“That was before I read what was in this envelope. And it convinces me that I am dead right, no pun intended.”
“What’s in it?” Keaton said.
“Information that Deja found about Richard…and Cash. Are you ready for this? They’re brothers.”
“They’re what?!” Sydney said.
“Brothers. Same father, different mothers.” I flipped through the pages. “I need some time to really go through this; I only skimmed it while we were in the car. The jest of it is that at one time, Cash lived in Missouri before he moved here. He knew Deja and Richard, used to hang out with them. She thought they were just good friends. Richard was secretive about his past, but he did mention his father once. After she moved down here, she hooked up with Cash. She found some papers that listed Richard’s father’s name. She thought that was a bit odd, so she did some research.”
“And that’s when she found out they were related,” Braden said.
“Exactly. But that isn’t all she discovered. Their father was murdered in February 2001. Cash left town three days after the murder.”
“Any details about the case?” Braden said.
I shuffled through the papers until I found what I was looking for. “He was found in his burned out Chevy truck, shot through the head. Deja wrote on the back that the night of the murder, she remembered seeing Richard and Cash burning some clothes in a metal barrel in their backyard. When she asked him about it, Richard told it to mind her own business and keep her mouth shut. She left him a month later.”
“If she thought Cash was a killer, then why was she dating him?” Sydney asked.
“To get information from him would be my guess,” Keaton said. “I wonder if they knew they were related.”
“How could they not know? Deja was probably hoping that if she could get enough evidence, she could turn it in to the police. Then she could get rid of both of them at the same time.”
“Sounds like they decided to take her out first,” Braden said.
“We need to finish what she started,” I replied.
“It’s not your job to catch him, Charlie,” Sydney pointed out.
“I know that, but I feel like it is my responsibility to make sure he is caught. An innocent cop is dead because of me. And what about Deja and Cash?”
“What about them?” Braden said.
“Who killed them?”
“It isn’t because of you, Charlie, if that is what you are thinking,” Braden said.
“No, I wasn’t thinking that, but I am now. Thanks.” I looked at the clock. “Bernie should be here soon. Did Zayne give you his notes?”
“Yeah, they’re over on the table,” Braden said.
“Good. I just want to give this stuff to Bernie and let him handle this mess.”
“Do you really think it is going to be that easy?” Keaton replied.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think Fox is going to let you off the hook,” he said. “I think he is going to keep dragging you back into it. I think you have become his new fixation, especially now that Deja is dead.”
“I think there is something that we should consider,” Braden said. “We should consider the possibility that Richard and Cash killed Deja.”
“So who killed Cash?” I said.
“Richard is the most logical choice. Cash was the only one that could tie him to the murder of their father and Deja.”
“Assuming they are the ones that killed him. So why come after me?”
“Maybe he thinks Deja told you something.”
A knock on the door stopped the conversation, which was a good thing because I was getting very uncomfortable with the direction it had taken. Bernie came in and looked around. “Thank you for coming,” Braden said, shaking his hand. “I know this must be uncomfortable for you.”
Bernie’s eyes seemed to burn a hole in my skull. “I want to talk to you alone,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the front door.
“Anything you say to her, you can say to the rest of us,” Keaton told him.
“What he said,” Braden said. Sydney nodded in agreement.
I looked at Bernie. He looked sad and confused. “It’s ok, we can go out there if you want.” Keaton shot me a warning look. “I’ll be fine,” I said, squeezing his hand. He helped me put his jacket on before I led Bernie out the door.
A brisk wind had started in the short time I had been inside Braden’s apartment. I clumsily zipped the jacket and flipped the collar up. Bernie paced on the sidewalk for a minute, hands shoved into his pockets. “It’s a little too cold to be standing here for long,” I said. “What is it you want to tell me?” He mumbled something that was lost in the wind. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I said I owe you an apology.”
“What for? You haven’t done anything.”
“For not listening to you more about your suspicions, and for saying that you had taken too many hits to the head.”
“Well, you are right about that. I’ve had my brains rattled pretty good the last couple of weeks. But that is certainly not your fault.” I held out my hand. “If friends can’t tell their friends when they have stepped over the line, then who can?” He shook my hand. “I understand your side of things. I imagine it’s not a comfortable position to be in, to have someone accuse one of your officers of wrongdoing. I think if I were in your shoes, I would probably react the same way. If you didn’t stand up for your officers, Bernie, I would lose respect for you.”
He looked at me in surprise. “Wow, I did not expect to hear that from you. That sounded like an apology.”
I grinned. “Probably as close as you’re going to get.” He laughed. “Can we go back inside now? It’s bloody cold out here.”
He nodded and we went back inside. “Nice to see you two didn’t kill each other,” Braden said as we took off our coats.
“I didn’t have to punch him once,” I said, feigning disappointment. Everyone laughed.
“Well, I do have some news,” Bernie said, pulling out his notepad. “Afraid none of it is good, either.”
“I’d rather have good news, thank you very much,” I replied. “I’m sick of hearing bad news.”
“Sorry, Charlie, can’t help you today,” he said, sitting down. “Richard Fox was indeed a police officer in Missouri. Deja filed an order of protection against him five years ago. It was for two years. Just before it expired, she disappeared. During that time, she apparently moved down here, working menial jobs, didn’t open a checking account, and not putting anything under her name. I don’t know how she managed to do it, but she did.”
“She probably got help from a group that helps abused women,” Sydney chimed in.
“It would be nice if we could verify that,” Bernie told her.
“I’ll see what I can do, but these groups are very private. It’s very hard to get information out of them.”
He nodded. “Fox was also a decorated soldier, did a tour of duty in Iraq as an explosives expert.”
My eyes widened at that. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope, it’s true. He may have been the one to blow up your car, but until we catch him, I can’t prove it.”
“Lovely.”
“They were married while he was home on leave. When he came back, that is when things started to fall apart. This part you know about, so I won’t rehash it.”
“Where is he right now?” Keaton said.
Bernie shook his head. “No clue. I went over to his house to talk to him, but he wasn’t there. Since he is considered a suspect in his ex-wife’s murder,” he said, looking at me before continuing, “I entered his ho
use accompanied by two other officers. It looks like he hasn’t been there in the last twenty-four hours. We did notice one interesting thing: there were bandages and antiseptic lying on the bathroom counter, as well as an ACE bandage box.”
I looked at him knowingly. “He’s injured. He’s the one that broke into the condo.”
“I think so,” he concurred.
I sank back against the couch. “Oh my God,” I said, feeling myself start to shake. Keaton grabbed my hand.
“I’m not sure you want to hear the rest of this, Charlie,” Bernie replied.
“Go on,” I urged him.
“There were pictures of you everywhere. Pictures of you at your house, at the store, at the newspaper, the diner, basically any place that you have been to in town. There are pictures of Keaton, too, but his face was blacked out. He has kept a detailed record of where you have been, who you saw, you name it, he knows it.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” I muttered.
My phone vibrated just then, indicating a text message. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the message. “Having fun yet, Charlie?” it said.
“Who is this?” I replied.
“Well now, who do you think it is?” the next message taunted me.
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh, come, come, you’re smarter than that. Give Bernie a message for me: tell him next time to do a more thorough background check before he hires someone.”
“Oh my God, he’s texting me,” I said out loud.
“Who?” Keaton said.
“Richard Fox.”
“Right now?” Bernie said. I nodded. “What’s he saying?”
“He said to give you a message: ‘Tell him next time to do a more thorough background check before he hires someone.’”
“Why, that rotten son of a …” Bernie said, coming out of his chair.
“What do you want?” I sent back to Richard.
“Who says I WANT anything?” he shot back.
“You’ve obviously been trying to get my attention.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Oh, well, if you don’t want anything from me, I’m just going to turn off my phone then.”
“No, you won’t,” he replied. “You’re too curious.”
I hated that he was right. And even worse, he KNEW he was right. “What do you want?” I repeated.
“Nothing right now. I just wanted to get in touch with you. Too many people around you right now for us to talk properly.”
“He knows you guys are here,” I told them.
“How?” Sydney said, looking around nervously.
I shrugged. “Beats me. He just said there were too many people around for us to have a proper conversation.”
“Too bad for him,” Keaton retorted, “someone is going to be with you at all times from now on.”
My phone vibrated. “I knew he would say that,” Richard wrote. “Tell him that knights in shining armor have been known to die.”
“Where are you?”
“Oh, somewhere close, yet far enough away that by the time Bernie figures it out, I’ll be long gone. But don’t worry, I’ll see you soon. Bye for now.”
“He’s signed off,” I said. But he can hear what we are saying. He said to tell Keaton that knights in shining armor have been known to die.”
“He bugged my apartment?” Braden said, clearly upset.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe there is a way he is doing it through my cell phone. He said he was close enough to hear us, but far enough away to be gone by the time Bernie gets there if he figures out Richard’s location.” But I turned off my phone just in case.
“We’ll sweep for bugs. He could be using high tech listening equipment that doesn’t require bugs to be in place. I can’t think of the technical term, but I’ll check on it,” Bernie said. “For now, I think the best course of action is to communicate in public places, like Edna’s or the police station. I don’t know if that will work, but it will have to do for now. Maybe I can check on some jamming equipment. Above all, we have to make sure that Charlie doesn’t go anywhere alone.”
I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Writing a quick note, I held it up and show it to everyone. If we were going to catch a fox, then we needed to set a trap without him knowing the details.
Chapter 44
The plan was simple really. For two days, I went about my normal business. Sometimes I went by myself; other times, I was with Keaton or Sydney. None of us saw Fox, but somehow I knew he was there, in the background somewhere, watching me, trying to figure out when to make his move. There were times when I found myself looking around, trying to find him.
Keaton caught me looking around once. “You’re just going to drive yourself crazy, you know,” he said as we put some groceries in the bed of his truck.
“I can’t help myself.”
“Try. Don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that he’s got you freaked out.”
I knew he was right. But I still looked anyway.
The third day, Sydney left town for a real estate convention. I went to the building site to see how the new house was coming along. As I drove there, I noticed an old Dodge Charger following a few car lengths behind me.
I parked in Mr. Crubbs’ driveway. “Charlie,” he said from a chair on his front porch as I got out of the car, “I’ve been keeping an eye on these construction guys for you.”
“Sort of an unofficial supervisor?”
He nodded. “Someone has to keep them in line. How are you feeling?”
“Better. A bit stiff still, but I’m getting around more.”
Keaton walked over, and gave me a kiss. “What are you doing here? I thought you were staying home today.”
“I was feeling restless, so I thought I would come by to see how things were going.”
“They’re still on schedule,” he replied. “They made it a bit bigger in the back so you can have an office instead of using the living room. I also asked Chet to give you a bathroom similar to mine.”
“This sounds more like a palace than a simple house!”
He gave me a hug. “I just wanted to make sure you had something nice after all you’ve been through lately.”
My phone buzzed. “Hello?”
“Charlotte?” my mother said. “I’d like to take you to lunch. Why don’t we meet at Edna’s in thirty minutes?”
“Sounds great, Mother. Is everything ok?”
“Yes, dear, everything’s fine. I just haven’t seen you in a few days, and I’d like to make sure you are doing alright.”
I laughed. “I think you just want to make sure I haven’t hurt myself again.”
“Well, yes,” she admitted, laughing with me before we said goodbye. After kissing Keaton, I got in the car and left. Since I didn’t have a mailbox at the moment, I had to pick up all my mail at the post office. After that, I headed to Edna’s.
I had a pleasant lunch with Mother, despite the fact that Ralph showed up and tried to get me to give him an exclusive interview again. Thankfully, Rachel distracted him with an enormous piece of peach cobbler while I made my escape.
Driving home, I checked the mirrors to see if I could spot Fox, and was relieved when I didn’t see him. I parked near the stairs, grabbing my purse and the mail before I got out. I walked up the stairs and dropped the keys in front of Keaton’s condo. I picked them up, and as I unlocked the door, someone grabbed me from behind, shoving me into the living room.
The deputy that was sitting at the table jumped up, his hand on his gun. “Don’t even think about it, Richardson,” Fox said. “Take your gun out with two fingers, put it on the floor, and slide it over to me.” Richardson did as he was told. “The one thing I really like about this condo is this big open space: living room and kitchen where everyone can see everything. Go handcuff yourself to the fridge.”
“You’ve got to be joking.”
Fox picked up Richardson’s gun and pointed it at him. “Do I l
ook like I’m kidding? Move it.” Richardson slowly did what he was told. “Now, let’s deal with you. Really, Charlie, you need to learn to be more careful. Or should I say Sydney?” he said, bending over and yanking off the wig.
“Hey, be careful!” Sydney replied as he jerked her to her feet.
“Come on out, Charlie,” Fox said. “I know you’re here somewhere.”
I walked out of the bedroom. “How did you figure it out?”
“Keaton kissed her on the cheek, not the lips, and she did the same thing to him. You two usually do a full lip lock,” he said. “At that point, I figured something was up, so I came back here, hid the car in the alley, and waited for her to come home.”
“Let Sydney go,” I said, “and I’ll go with you wherever you want to go.”
“Oh, that’s a given,” Fox said, shoving the gun in his waistband. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stun gun. He zapped Sydney in the neck, and she crumpled to the ground. He walked over and used it on Richardson before turning back to me. “Let’s go.”
I moved slowly towards him. “Where are we going?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you,” he replied, grabbing me by the arm. That’s the last thing he said to me before he used the stun gun on me and everything went black.
Chapter 45
Being zapped with a stun gun makes you feel like a big pile of goo. Your muscles shut down and it takes a while before you can move again. Fox had put me in the back seat of my own car, and the seatbelt was digging into my still healing ribs. “Could you go easy on the bumps?” I said.
“You want another shot from the stun gun?” he replied.
“Not really.”
“Then just lay there and enjoy the ride.”
I decided it was better not to aggravate him. I had too many questions that only he could answer.
Fifteen minutes later, I felt the car turn down a gravel driveway. Fox parked the car, got out, and dragged me out of the back seat. He slung me over his shoulder and carried me inside. Dropping me on the couch, he went back outside. I looked around and groaned. He had brought me to Cash’s house.
“You’re kidding, right?” I said when he came back. “You brought me to your brother’s place?”
Good Night Sleep Tight Don't Let the Stalkers Bite (Charlie Bannerman Mysteries) Page 18