by V. M. Burns
We spent the rest of the day picking up decorations, food, and supplies for the housewarming. Unfortunately, Red had to work late and wasn’t able to join us for dinner, so I was able to enjoy a little quiet time with my children at the end of the day.
It was another lovely summer evening, so we ate outside and reviewed our decorating handywork.
“I think everything looks great.” Stephanie scanned the flowers we’d spent the afternoon planting to brighten up the yard.
David mowed and edged the grass, and Stephanie and I filled planters with annuals, which we used to line the edge of the deck.
“I love your yard,” Stephanie said. “I was only half joking about getting married here.”
I squeezed her hand. “I’d love that. What does Joe want?”
She smiled. “Whatever makes me happy.”
“What will make you happy?”
She thought for a minute. “Actually, being closer to family.” She smiled. “We’re talking about possibly relocating to Chattanooga.”
I gasped. “Do you mean it?” My eyes filled with tears. “I would love that so much.” I hugged my daughter.
“Red thinks he could get Joe a job at TBI. I’d have to pass the bar in Tennessee to be able to practice here, but I love the weather, and if we start a family one day, then I’d want to be closer to you.”
I hugged her again. “Oh, my goodness. That’s just the most amazing . . .” I choked up. When I was able to talk, I turned to David. “What about you?”
“I’m not ready to give up my career and move to Tennessee . . . not yet anyway. Madison and I are still feeling each other out and testing the waters. I’m hoping she’ll come to New York for a visit.” He shrugged. “Who knows? She may like it; she may not. But if both of you are here, then I will definitely have a lot more reasons to come for a visit.”
“You are always welcome.”
We spent a long time sitting out and talking about the future. When I eventually went to bed, I spent a long time thinking about my life and how incredibly blessed I was. I thanked God for the direction my life had taken and for everything that had led me to Chattanooga and this place.
Aggie slept next to me and gave a short woof. I glanced at my sleeping dog and couldn’t help wondering if she was dreaming about playing Catch Me If You Can in her sleep. After a few minutes, I reminded myself that tomorrow I needed to get up early to go with Dixie to pack up Naomi Keller’s clothes to donate to the homeless shelter. I tried not to dwell on the contrast between the path that Naomi Keller’s life had taken and my own. She must have been extremely unhappy in her marriage. Warren Keller was a hard man, who was, if the rumors were to be believed, very controlling. I wondered if she’d loved Dixon Vannover. He too had been controlling of his wife. Had June gotten tired of his philandering and murdered him? She had a motive. She had the opportunity to kill both Naomi and Dixon. June Vannover didn’t have a dog. She could have killed Naomi Keller at the dog club and used one of Naomi’s leads, but would she have taken an extra lead to finish off her husband?
Brittney Keller also had a good reason to kill both Dixon and Naomi. Red’s sister heard her arguing with him. She openly admitted that she hated her stepmother. She was at the dog club when Naomi was murdered, and she had access to the lead that was used to garrote both her cheating boyfriend and her stepmother, whom he’d cheated with. She had motive. She had the opportunity, and she had the means. She would now get the money from her stepmother’s insurance policy. Plus she had a cat.
My muscles ached from the yard work and planting, and I struggled to think. I was missing something important, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember it. I hoped whatever the missing piece to this puzzle was, I’d remember it when I needed to. I just hoped that need would come quickly.
Chapter 26
I was awakened by a weight on my chest. For a brief instant while I was between sleep and conscious thought, I had a moment of panic. Is this what a heart attack feels like? That was until the weight started to use my body as a ramp and walk up and down. I rolled over and dislodged the interloper, hoping she’d go back to sleep, but it was not to be. This time, she walked up to my face and scratched with her paws until she pulled down the covers. When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into a cold, wet, black nose. Aggie was persistent if nothing else.
I checked the time and then decided those extra forty-five minutes wouldn’t make much difference anyway. So I canceled my alarm and scooped up the poodles. I opened Stephanie’s door and called Lucky and then took all three dogs outside.
It looked like the weatherman might be right, and today promised to be perfect for an outdoor function. I waited while the dogs took care of their business and then let them back inside and got myself ready for the day. I dressed in a sundress, which I got at an end-of-season sale from the clearance rack at one of the most expensive stores in town. It was my favorite summer dress, and it fit well, which always boosted my confidence.
Dixie picked me up at the designated time. Initially, I planned to leave the dogs at home, but when Dixie arrived in her RV with Chyna and Leia in tow, I decided Aggie, Rex, and Lucky deserved a little time hanging out with their friends. I left a note for the kids, and we set off for yet another mountain trek. I kept my eyes closed for most of the trip. When I felt the car level out, I opened my eyes.
“Sweet mother of God, how do you manage driving this thing up this mountain?”
“I’ve done it so often I don’t even think about it.”
“How long do you think this will take?” I asked. “There’s still plenty of things to do before everyone arrives this afternoon, and I have at least three more hours of stressing out ahead of me.”
“Hopefully, he will have sorted through things and at least gotten boxes for us, but if it takes more than an hour, we’ll just tell him we need to come back another time.”
Warren Keller opened the door and invited us inside. “You ladies are punctual. I made coffee, and I picked up croissants too.”
“We don’t really have much time. Lilly Ann has a housewarming in a few hours, and we have a lot of work to do, so we’ll take a rain check and just get busy sorting Naomi’s things.”
His eyes flashed for a moment, but that moment was over quickly. He smiled. “Surely, you have time for coffee.”
Not wanting to be rude, Dixie and I accepted the coffee but declined his offer of croissants.
I took a small sip of coffee, afraid I’d spill something on my dress. When he stepped out of the room for a moment, I dumped most of my coffee down the sink. When he returned, he seemed pleased and escorted us to the master bedroom.
A room that had probably at one time been a small nursery, just off the master, had been renovated into a closet for Naomi. The room was outfitted with floor-to-ceiling mahogany cabinets.
Naomi Keller had expensive taste, and her clothes reflected that. Every shirt, pair of pants, and shoe had a designer’s name on it somewhere. One entire wall was dedicated to shoes. I recognized names like Jimmy Choo, Louboutin, and Stuart Weitzman. I tried to count how many there were but stopped at a hundred and fifteen.
When Warren left to find us some boxes, I turned to Dixie and said, “Are you seriously going to take those two-thousand-dollar Jimmy Choo boots to the homeless shelter?”
Dixie smiled. “Of course. We won’t be able to give them to any of the women because it might make them a target. However, we’ve been looking for a good fund-raiser, and I think auctioning off Naomi Keller’s shoes, furs, and expensive gowns would bring in a lot of money.”
“That’s a great idea.”
She yawned. “We can donate the blue jeans and casual clothes to the clothing pantry, but the more expensive items will be able to benefit more women if we can sell them and use the money for paying for night school or for helping with rent, utility payments, and groceries.”<
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We worked quickly, boxing as many items as we could, but there was no way we would get everything boxed up today.
Dixie yawned for the third or fourth time. “I can’t understand why I’m so sleepy.”
“I stayed up late thinking about who could possibly have killed Naomi Keller and Dixon Vannover.” I glanced around to make sure Warren Keller wasn’t nearby. I didn’t see him but lowered my voice anyway. “I don’t think it was June.”
“You don’t want it to be June.” Dixie yawned. “She had a good motive, and she has a cat.”
“I know, but I just don’t think she would have taken Naomi Keller’s lead and strangled her. I think she would have shot her first.”
“I suppose. June is pretty small. Strangling someone takes a lot of strength, doesn’t it?”
“If we use that logic, then that would eliminate Brittney too.” I shook my head. “But both of them have cats, and Warren—”
That’s when it hit me. What I’d been struggling to remember was the cat I’d seen in Warren Keller’s backyard the first time we arrived. Just then, the door opened, and Warren Keller stood in the doorway, holding the cat.
“Uh, I didn’t know you had a cat.”
He smirked. “Now what difference could it make whether I have a cat or not?”
I glanced at Dixie, who seemed to be ready to fall over.
“Oh, your friend is probably going to be asleep in a few minutes,” Warren Keller said. “She won’t be able to help you.” He put the cat down and revealed that, behind, it he had a gun “It would have been a lot less painful if you had drunk your coffee.”
I grabbed Dixie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “What did you drug her with?”
“Diazepam. I had planned to use it on Naomi, but I never got a chance.”
My brain raced around furiously. Keep him talking. I needed to keep him talking. “Why? Why did you kill your wife?”
“Because she was a dirty little tramp. I see women like her every day. They marry a man and promise to love, honor, and obey until death do they part. However, they don’t. The first time there’s trouble or they see some other poor fool they think can give them more shoes or more jewels, they want to be free.” He sneered. “Naomi was just like them. She would drop her skirt for any Tom, Dick, or Dixon who gave her the time of day.” He spat on the floor. “She sickened me.”
I hadn’t noticed the crazy streak in his eyes until that moment. I needed to find a way to get Dixie and me out of that closet, but the only weapon I had to fight with was the pair of Jimmy Choo boots that I had in my hand.
I needed to keep him talking to buy time to figure out how to get us out of this mess. “Why did you kill Dixon Vannover?”
“Vannover was just as bad as Naomi. I had no idea he was having an affair with both my wife and my daughter until you two told me when you came with the casserole. He deserved what he got.”
Dixie swayed, and I reached out to support my friend before she collapsed. “People know where we are. I left a note.”
“You two are going to have an accident.” He took a step backward and used the gun to motion for me to come out. “Now, move.”
I wrapped my arms around Dixie’s waist to support her, and we walked out of the closet and made our way through the house. When I got to the front door, I stopped.
“Go.”
I leaned Dixie against my body so I could grab the knob. Once I got the door open, I helped her outside. Dixie was mostly dead weight, and it was a struggle to keep her upright and still move. The Kellers’ mountain home was fairly secluded, but he moved the gun to my back so it wouldn’t be easily visible to a casual observer.
We walked slowly, propelling Dixie forward as we went. When we got to Dixie’s RV, I could hear the poodles barking.
He held the gun to the back of Dixie’s head. “Tell them to settle down, or I blow your friend’s brains out here and now.”
“Quiet.” I opened the door to the RV.
Surprisingly, Lucky, Chyna, and Leia obeyed. They weren’t my dogs, and I never gave them orders. Aggie and Rex were a different matter. They continued to bark, but their yaps weren’t the least bit menacing.
Warren Keller looked irritated, and I could tell he was about to order me again to silence the dogs when Aggie lunged forward and took a flying leap at Warren Keller’s face.
Surprised by her assault, Warren Keller tripped on the RV steps and fell onto the ground. Chyna, Leia, and Lucky took that as their cue to attack and bounded out of the RV. The dogs growled, and Warren screamed as Lucky went for his throat. Chyna and Leia grabbed his arms, and Aggie and Rex each had a leg.
The gun fell from his hands, and I picked it up. I helped Dixie into the passenger seat.
Warren Keller was writhing on the ground, with blood flowing from several open wounds.
I pulled out the gun and pointed it at him. For the life of me, I couldn’t recall any of the Schutzhund commands, which I knew Lucky knew, to prevent him from ripping Warren Keller’s throat off. “Lucky, come,” I ordered.
Immediately, he backed off the injured man, but the dog did not take his eyes off his target for one second.
“Chyna. Leia. Off.” I pointed to the RV, and the large poodles obeyed.
I scooped Aggie up with one hand and tossed her inside the RV. Rex barked a couple more times and then ran into the RV after Aggie. Finally, I ordered Lucky into the RV.
I stood there, holding a gun on Warren Keller, who had stopped screaming. I wasn’t sure if he was dead or merely passed out from his wounds. However, I wasn’t about to check to find out. I hurried around to the driver’s side and climbed in. I closed and locked all the doors.
I looked for my cell phone to call Red, and that’s when Warren Keller got up and started to beat on the window, leaving bloody smears on the glass.
I found Dixie’s keys and started the RV. Then I put my foot on the gas and took off.
Chapter 27
“Dear God, I can’t do this. I can’t do this.”
I heard a feeble voice say, “Yes, you can.”
I looked over at Dixie, who was barely conscious. I knew my friend was in serious trouble and needed medical attention. “Hang on, Dixie.” I pressed the gas harder and steered the RV down Lookout Mountain. Initially, I took the mountain at a slow pace. However, after a few blocks, I felt a jolt.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a luxury SUV driven by a red-faced and furious Warren Keller ram into the back.
“Oh God, he’s trying to kill us.” I pressed down on the accelerator.
The road down the mountain was one lane of traffic in each direction. Those ascending were closest to the mountain, and the downhill travelers were in the outside lane. Fear made me drive as close to the mountain as possible until I was forced into the right lane by an approaching car. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my hands hurt. My heart raced, and I started to panic.
“Calm down, Lilly,” I said. “You can do this. You have to do this.”
Another jolt from Warren Keller from behind forced me to jerk the wheel to prevent us from careening over the side of the mountain. Terror at being killed by a maniac overrode my fear of driving down the mountain, and I pressed the pedal and sped up.
My hands were sweating, and that’s when I remembered the Bluetooth on Dixie’s RV. I pushed the button on the steering wheel. When I heard the familiar ding, I screamed, “Call Red Olson.”
The voice repeated the command and then dialed the number. Red picked up on the third ring. “Hey, beautifu—”
“It’s Warren Keller. He murdered Naomi and Dixon, and he’s trying to kill Dixie and me.”
Red flipped the switch that sent him into full-blown law-enforcement mode. “Where are you?”
“Driving Dixie’s RV down Lookout Mountain.”
Warren Kel
ler drove alongside and made a sharp right turn to try and force the RV off the mountain.
I screamed.
“Lilly, hang on. I’m calling nine-one-one, and I’m on my way.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can. You’re a strong woman, and you can do this. You’re an excellent driver. Where’s Dixie?”
I glanced over at my friend. “He drugged her.”
“Then you’re going to have to keep driving.”
I bit my lip and pressed the gas a bit more. “I’m so scared.”
“I know you’re scared, but you can do this. You have to get down that mountain. You can’t miss Stephanie and Joe’s wedding. Think about Stephanie.”
I could hear a car door slam and traffic noise and knew Red was on his way. “She said they want to move to Chattanooga. She wants to be close when they start their family.
“You don’t want to miss the birth of your grandchild. Now pull yourself together and drive.”
A picture of a chubby, curly-haired baby flashed into my mind, and I knew he was right. I had to do this. Suddenly, I was filled with rage. How dare he? In that instant, I knew I couldn’t let Warren Keller destroy my happiness. I looked ahead and caught sight of a small turnabout where hikers often parked to take one of the hiking trails. It was a small area, and there was one car parked there. I could hear sirens in the distance.
I checked the rearview mirror and saw Warren Keller’s SUV speeding up to ram me again. At the last moment, I swerved the RV and pulled aside. When Warren went to ram into the back of me, he missed and flew over the side of the mountain.
A few minutes later, a fireman banged on the side of the RV. “You okay?”
I was shaking so bad I couldn’t speak. Eventually, he opened the door and stepped inside. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
Dixie moaned from the passenger seat. “Help my friend. She’s been drugged with diazepam.”
The EMTs pulled Dixie out of the RV and got her into an ambulance.