A Shot of Bitterness

by Wendy Meadows

  Leah Freeman sipped her coffee. Her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them with a napkin. She looked out the diner window and turned to Margaret.

  “I have never told anyone this before,” Leah started. “My husband was abusive. He was always talking down to me. He told me how ugly I was and how I could never do anything right. Everything I did he criticized. He threatened to slap me once when I accidentally dropped a plate of food. It was his fault but he blamed me. My life was awful. I was shocked when he died but I wasn’t sad. I needed a clean break and decided to move out of the house. I thought I could get a new start somewhere else.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from,” said Margaret. “Did he do anything else?”

  “Well, I should have told you this before but I was too embarrassed. I know Scott was having an affair. He smelled like perfume one night and later when I was doing his laundry I saw a dark red lipstick stain on his collar,” said Leah. “Like really dark red. I noticed these things but I figured it was my fault. I could never live up to his expectations. I thought I was ugly. I know better now but then I just kept my mouth shut. Also the night that he died he told me he would be out late. I didn’t think anything of it. He used to stay out late all the time when he was opening a store. And well—I’m not sure why I did what I did. Maybe it was the lipstick stain. Anyway, I asked him when he would be home. He yelled at me to mind my own business. He shoved me against the upstairs banister so hard it knocked a nail loose and tore my dress. I put my hands up by my face and he laughed at me. He stormed out. I never saw him again.”

  Margaret sympathized with Leah Freeman. Margaret’s husband had said similar things to her when they were together. Margaret too had believed the lies. Until she didn’t. Then she ran with Zach.

  “Do you have any idea who he would have been cheating with?” asked Margaret.

  Leah looked away. “I don’t know. I searched his pockets for clues but I never found any. Also—well, never mind.”

  “No, please tell me,” Margaret said.

  “It’s nothing,” Leah said, but she didn’t meet Margaret’s eyes. Margaret had a strong feeling she was hiding something.

  Margaret thought about the chocolate stain she and David had found in Scott’s coffee shop. She thought about some other clues and started to piece things together.

  “Do you have a safe place you can go to?” asked Margaret.

  “Yes,” said Leah. “I’m staying with my sister, Janie, until I can find another house. If you need to leave she can pick me up.”

  “Where does your sister live?” asked Margaret.

  “Only about twenty minutes from here,” said Leah.

  “I can wait for her to get here but I think it would be better if I just drove home. Would you mind calling her?” asked Margaret. After Leah called her sister, the two women talked together until she arrived.

  “Are you okay?” Janie asked Leah when she came inside.

  “Yes, I am, but my private investigator is not,” she said. “She got hit over the head trying to figure out what happened to Scott.”

  “Oh my goodness,” said Janie. “Do we need to get you to a hospital?”

  “I’ll be okay,” said Margaret. “Just take Leah home. I’m leaving to go back to my house. It’s not that far away.”

  “Thank you for waiting with my sister,” Janie told Margaret.

  “I was happy to. I just want her to be safe.”

  Margaret got up and paid the bill. Her head was pounding and she knew she had to go home. She called Zach and asked him to meet her there. Margaret hugged Leah goodbye. She left and drove to her house.

  Chapter 14

  Margaret drove home carefully, although she probably shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. She was dizzy but maintained consciousness. When she got home Zach met her in the driveway. Margaret let him help her into the house. She noticed the police officers get on the radio. She figured David would hear about her soon. Right now she just wanted to talk to Zach.

  “Could you please call David and tell him I’m all right?” Margaret asked Zach. “I promise I will go to his office in a little while. I just want to sit down with an ice bag and some aspirin.

  Zach agreed and called David, telling him about Margaret’s bump on the head. Zach promised David he would call him if he needed him.

  “He is not happy but he said to take some aspirin,” said Zach.

  “Good idea,” Margaret said wryly. She sat down on the sofa and Zach brought her an ice bag, some aspirin, and some sweet tea. Margaret took the aspirin and put the ice bag on the back of her head.

  “At least it’s not bleeding,” she said to Zach.

  “What happened exactly?” Zach asked her. Margaret told him about going to Leah Freeman’s house. She told him what Leah had said at the diner. She left out some of the parts about her husband but she did tell Zach that Leah told her she thought Scott was cheating on her.

  “What made her think that?” asked Scott.

  “There was dark red lipstick on her collar and she smelled perfume on him when he got home one night,” Margaret explained, again wondering what Leah was hiding from her.

  “Why didn’t she confront him?” asked Zach.

  “That was not an option,” said Margaret. Zach understood.

  “Did she have any idea who he was sleeping with?” asked Zach.

  “She says she didn’t,” said Margaret, “but I do.”

  “Who?” asked Zach.

  “David and I found some chocolate smeared on the coffee shop wall. When I saw it I figured that it was from one of Scott’s pastries he was serving at the coffee shop. Now I think it was from somewhere else.”

  “Where?” asked Zach.

  “I think it was from the Harrises’ bakery. What if Allie Harris was having an affair with Scott Freeman? What if she decided to kill him?” Margaret said. “Remember, Allie was defending Scott Freeman the morning we went over to the bakery. That seemed odd since her husband hated him. He said they were losing business because of Scott Freeman’s coffee shop. If that were the case, Allie should have been upset with Scott too. But she wasn’t.”

  “We should go and talk to David,” said Zach. “Do you think you can get up?”

  “Yes, my headache is much better. Thank you,” Margaret replied. She started to get up and immediately felt dizzy.

  “Could you help me up?” she asked Zach.

  “Sure,” said Zach. He helped her off the sofa and to the car. Margaret gave him her keys.

  “You drive, but let’s take my car,” she said. Zach didn’t argue. He helped Margaret into the passenger seat and ran around to the driver’s side. He hopped in but before he could start the engine Kyle appeared.

  “Is everything all right?” Kyle asked Margaret.

  “Yes,” said Margaret. I think I may have solved the case.”

  “That is wonderful,” said Kyle.

  “We need to get to David’s office,” said Zach.

  “Go ahead,” said Kyle. “And let me know what happens.” Margaret promised to tell him, and Zach gunned the engine. He was careful on the turns but made it to the precinct in record time. While Zach was helping Margaret out of the car, David appeared and helped her inside.

  “I told the officers to call me if you left,” said David. “I’m glad you came here.” Margaret was glad too. David helped her to his office.

  “Now, what is going on?”

  Margaret and Zach filled David in on what had happened that morning. David was initially angry with Margaret for going over to the Freeman house alone, but his anger grew into concern when he heard the rest of the story.

  “We think Allie Harris and maybe her husband, Allen, have something to do with Scott’s death,” Margaret said. “Leah said the lipstick stain she found was really dark red, just like the color Allie had on when we talked to her. The chocolate on the wall could have come from their bakery. The fabric piece was from Leah’s dress. It caught on the banister when Sc
ott shoved her. He shoved her because she asked him what time he would be home that night.”

  “What a jerk,” said David. “I agree that Allen and Allie Harris look suspicious. We need to bring them in for questioning. But before we do, how is your head?”

  “I’m not dizzy anymore,” said Margaret.

  “That’s good. You and Zach can wait here while I go and talk to the Harrises,” said David.

  “I want to go with you. I’m fine!” she insisted when David started to protest.

  David, Margaret, and Zach got into the car. Zach refused to let his mother go without him.

  David parked by the bakery. He tried once again to keep Margaret in the car.

  “Not on your life,” she said. David looked at Zach and he shrugged in reply.

  “That’s odd,” said Margaret. “Their Closed sign is on the door. They should still be open.”

  “Maybe they forgot to flip it,” said Zach. “I’ve done that before.”

  Margaret agreed that was a possibility. She got out of the car and Zach followed her. David took the lead and walked up to the store. He tried to push the door open, and it wouldn’t move. It was locked. Margaret peered inside. She didn’t see anyone behind the counter, but when she moved her head she could see into the kitchen.

  “We have to get in there,” she told David. “Allen has a knife to Allie’s throat.”

  Chapter 15

  David wasted no time. He grabbed his gun and turned it around. He used the gun to break the glass around the door and opened the lock. He put his gun back in the holster and walked in slowly. Margaret and Zach followed him inside.

  “Whatever you think is wrong I’m sure we can work something out,” said David to Allen, holding up his hands. David didn’t want to give Allen any reason to hurt Allie. “Put down the knife.”

  “No,” said Allen. “She has been cheating on me. I’m tired of being cheated on.”

  “I have not cheated on you,” said Allie. They bickered back and forth for a moment. At times Allen waved the knife by Allie’s face. At other times he had the knife pointed at her jugular.

  “Allen, put the knife down. We can talk about this civilly once you have done that. If you don’t remove the knife from her throat I will have to pull my gun out. It will all go downhill from there,” David explained calmly. He put his hand on his gun. Allen saw this. He hesitated, and then he growled and put the knife down. David moved the knife out of Allen’s reach and put him in handcuffs. Margaret went over to Allie. Allie hugged Margaret and thanked David.

  “Not so fast,” said David. “We came over here to question the two of you. Let’s take a ride to the station.” David called for backup and after officers arrived on the scene they took Allen and Allie in to the station.

  “It’s time for you to get back to work,” Margaret told Zach. “I’m going with David to the station.”

  “Are you?” asked David. “May I remind you that you aren’t a police officer?”

  “Here we go again,” said Margaret. “You wouldn’t have even known to arrest them if it hadn’t been for me. The least you could do is let me tag along.”

  “Fine,” said David. Margaret told Zach she would call as soon as they knew anything. Zach walked back to the candy shop and Margaret climbed into David’s truck. They went to the station.

  “You know the one-sided glass? You can stay on the one side while I question them. Please be quiet,” David told Margaret.

  “I will,” she agreed, happy to be able to witness the questioning firsthand. David showed her where to stand. He questioned Allie first; husband and wife were in separate rooms.

  “Why did Allen have a knife to your throat?” David asked.

  “You heard him. He thought I was cheating on him,” she answered.

  “Were you?” asked David.

  “No,” Allie said. “I love Allen. I would never cheat on him.”

  “Okay,” said David. “I’ll be right back.” David left and went to the room where Allen was being kept.

  “Allen, why do you think Allie was cheating on you?” asked David.

  “Well, I saw Scott Freeman ogling her one day. She didn’t seem to care. Then when I heard him propositioning her, Allie said no but it was not a firm no,” said Allen. “I knew something was going to happen sooner or later.”

  “Why didn’t you confront her then?” asked David.

  “They hadn’t slept together yet. I didn’t want to confront her until I had some evidence. I sent notes to Scott Freeman threatening him. I told him to leave my wife alone. He ignored me. I caught him talking to Allie outside his coffee shop. Allie stayed at the bakery late that night. I stopped by to see if she needed any help. That’s when I saw them together,” said Allen, starting to cry.

  “Allie and Scott Freeman?” asked David.

  “Yes,” said Allen.

  “What did you do?” asked David.

  “I went over to Leah Freeman’s house right away. I told her what I had seen. I asked her to confront her husband but she refused. It was like she didn’t care. I told her if she didn’t do anything I would,” said Allen.

  So that’s what Leah was keeping hidden, Margaret thought as she listened. Leah knew Allie was the one Scott Freeman was having the affair with. Margaret wondered why Leah didn’t just tell her that.

  “So what did you do?” coaxed David.

  “I went to the coffee shop and put some rat poison in his coffee. It wasn’t enough to alter the taste but I figured it was enough to get him out of the way,” said Allen.

  “So you admit to killing Scott Freeman,” said David.

  “Yes I do. I didn’t want it to come to that but when I saw them together my mind went mad. Leah Freeman was letting him run around with other women. I could not believe it. I thought if I killed him it would be over. He would be gone and Allie and I would be back to the way we were. That didn’t happen. Every time I looked at Allie I saw them together. I hadn’t asked Allie about that night but finally I had to. I had to know why she cheated on me,” said Allen.

  “And that is when we found you?” asked David.

  “Yes,” said Allen. “I still don’t know why she cheated on me but I do know I never want to see her again.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem where you are going,” said David. He looked at the officer in the room. “Book him.”

  Margaret watched all this play out from the other side of the glass. It was hard to keep quiet when Allen admitted to killing Scott. I was right, Margaret thought. Maybe the killer wasn’t a woman like I first thought but I figured it out. She jumped once and then settled down. Margaret left the room with the mirror and went to David’s office to wait for him. David came in a while later.

  “So he did it?” asked Margaret.

  “Yes, he did. I talked to Allie again and told her what Allen had said. She broke down and admitted to being with Scott Freeman. She didn’t want to admit it to Allen because she was sure that Allen would have killed her. I told her to go home and get some rest. Allen will be tried soon and I’m sure he will be going to jail for a long time,” said David.

  “Good,” said Margaret. “It’s too bad he took matters into his own hands.”

  “Yes, it is. Vengeance is never a good option,” said David.

  “So are you going to say it?” asked Margaret.

  “Say what?” asked David.

  “That you could not have done this without me,” Margaret said.

  “That is true. You were a big help in this investigation. Maybe I will start coming to you every time I have a difficult case,” David said.

  Margaret beamed.

  “Now don’t get too excited,” David continued. “This won’t be anything official since you aren’t officially deputized.”

  “I’ll take it,” said Margaret, smiling.

  Margaret went back to the store. Mr. Stewart, Stacy, and Simone were there with Zach and Patty. They all cheered when she walked inside.

 
“How are you, darling?” asked Simone.

  “How does it feel to solve the crime?” asked Mr. Stewart.

  “Does your head hurt?” asked Stacy. “Let me get you some ice.” Stacy went to the back and returned with some ice cubes in a baggie. Margaret held it to her head.

  “So who did it?” asked Zach.

  “It was Allen Harris,” said Margaret.

  “Allen Harris?” said Patty. “He seemed so nice. I loved his pastries.”

  “Well, if truth be told it was Allie who made the pastries. Allen just sold them and did the business accounting. He turned out to be not as sweet as we thought,” said Margaret. “Although he did have a reason to be mad.”

  “What is going to happen to him?” asked Mr. Stewart.

  “He will be going to jail for a long time,” said Margaret. Her phone rang. “Excuse me, I have to get this,” Margaret told the others. She went in the back and answered the phone. It was Leah Freeman.

  “I just heard they apprehended the person that killed my husband,” said Leah. “Was it the woman he was sleeping with?”

  “No,” said Margaret, “it was her husband. Why didn’t you tell me Allen Harris confronted you about Scott’s affair with his wife?”

  “I’m not sure,” Leah said. “Probably because I was ashamed. I had knowledge of his affair and I decided not to do anything about it. It was cowardly of me.”

  “Your husband was abusive. It’s understandable you were scared to confront him.”

  “Thank you for saying that. So Allen Harris killed my husband,” Leah said. “He told me he was going to do something but I never dreamed he was capable of murder. Anyway, I sent you your check today. You should be receiving it in a day or two. We had not discussed salary but I hope it is enough to compensate you for your time,” said Leah.

  “I’m sure it will be more than enough,” said Margaret. She thanked Leah and hung up the phone. The money was nice, but the feeling of success was even nicer.