“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, and thanks, Ron.”
“See you soon.”
***
Missy stopped in front of Ron’s house. It was an older colonial with a big chimney right in the middle. His SUV was parked in the driveway that ran up to and down the side of the house.
Before she got out of her truck, she grabbed her cell phone off the passenger seat. It reminded her of her earlier conversation with Tyler. He had asked her to let him know if she went to talk to Ron because the guy could handle himself.
Missy’s thumb hovered over the phone.
To her, it seemed obvious now that Connie, if anybody, had infected Karen with tape worms. Missy just couldn’t see Ron doing it. He had called off their engagement originally and then Karen had reached out to him in her time of confusion and need. No, she doubted it was Ron.
And besides, she was still angry with Tyler for…everything. For everything and nothing. For what had happened twenty years ago, for what hadn’t happened twenty years ago, and for what wasn’t happening now. She really just needed to move on.
Sure, she’d told herself that before but this time she really meant it. It was time. So what if she’d fallen on her face with Aaron? She hadn’t even been sure she wanted anything to happen with him anyway. It was really no big deal. By this time tomorrow, she’d—
Light spilled onto Ron’s porch when his front door opened. Missy got out of the truck and stuffed her phone into her pocket.
“Hey, Missy.”
“Hey, Ron. Thanks for seeing me on short notice.” She smiled as she closed the driver side door. “I just felt like this couldn’t wait, you know?”
He nodded. “I understand. Come on in.”
She followed him up the stairs, onto the porch, and into the house. His foyer was nice and wide and opened to a living room where a widescreen, high-def TV was airing a baseball game loudly.
“Sorry about the mess,” he said. “Get you a drink?”
In terms of guy’s places, the house wasn’t that messy. She saw some clothes draped over the back of the couch and a few plates, but nothing that creeped her out.
“What are you having?” Missy asked.
“Beer.”
She hadn’t finished her lager at Hank’s. “That sounds real good right now.”
“Have a seat.” He motioned at the couch facing the TV and then went off to get the drinks.
Missy stepped into the living room and took a quick look around. There were pictures of Ron with his parents and what she presumed were his two sisters. He also had a tiny picture of him and Karen on an end table, which looked a few years old. Probably from back when they were engaged.
It was a little odd, but not alarming considering they had started talking again following the break-up with Connie. He also might have brought it back out after Karen passed away, his way of remembering her.
Ron returned with two cold bottles of beer. She took the offered one and sipped. It was a light beer, so it agreed with her.
“That is exactly what I needed right now,” Missy said.
Ron smiled and almost laughed. He leaned against the wide threshold that separated the living room from the dining room. Missy stole a glance past him at dining table and saw another picture of him and Karen. She was too far away to get a good look at it.
“So what brings you here?” Ron asked.
Missy took another sip. She did not need the empty calories of a beer but life was more than counting calories and right now she needed it.
“Connie.” Missy put her beer down on a coaster, right next to the picture of Ron and Karen.
Ron seemed not to have heard her. His eyes were fixated on the picture of him and Karen.
“I remember every single minute of that day.”
Missy regarded the picture. They both looked so happy. Karen was leaning into him, her head upturned to gaze into his eyes. Ron had two powerful arms around her and stared longingly into her eyes. They looked so young, so happy. Their whole lives were ahead of them.
“You two were happy.”
“Then we were. That was before.”
“Before what?”
Ron took a big gulp of his beer. Half the drink disappeared, Missy thought.
“Before…everything.”
Missy nodded. She wasn’t really here to learn more about their failed engagement but she didn’t want to press Ron to get to the point. He was very emotional and she didn’t want him to shut down on her.
“She was so jealous.” Ron stared hard at her. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Missy didn’t understand why he was staring so hard at her. “Uh, no. Actually, I’d always thought you were the jealous one.”
He just continued to stare at her.
Missy laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.
Ron shook his head and did not laugh. “She lied.”
“No, when she said it, she said we have jealousy issues. I always thought that was her nice way of saying you did.”
Finally he looked way. “No, that was all her. I loved her more than anything and I didn’t care if other guys hit on her or checked her out. But she…she was just the opposite. Karen was insanely jealous.”
Missy was growing very uncomfortable. She didn’t care to listen to stories about Karen’s shortcomings. She’d come to find out if Connie had infected her with tape worms.
“It drove us apart,” Ron said. “Her self-esteem was so low, she constantly suspected me of running around on her or worrying all the time that I’d leave. You know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is?”
Missy did. All too well. “Yes.”
Ron finished the rest of his beer. Missy watched his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.
“You need another?” he asked.
Missy had barely made a dent in hers. “I have a long way to go with this one.”
He shrugged. “Alright, then.”
Ron left to get himself another beer, and Missy took her phone out. Ron was acting weird. Really weird. She started a text to Tyler. She didn’t think Ron was the killer but better to be safe than sorry. Before she was done writing, though, her cell buzzed from an incoming call.
Missy shrieked, then clamped a hand over her mouth. Ron hustled into the living room, new beer in hand.
“Sorry.” Missy laughed. “My phone just scared the bejesus out of me.”
He didn’t smile, or nod, or respond. Instead his eyes got a faraway look.
The incoming call was from Mrs. Wise. Missy went back and forth on taking it. She was in Ron’s living room so didn’t want to be rude and take a call. But at the same time, she was interested to speak to Mrs. Wise after their earlier, bizarre conversation.
“I’m sorry.” She smiled apologetically. “I have to take this.”
Ron nodded.
Missy stood and headed out of the house. She took the call as she stepped off the porch onto the lawn.
“Mrs. Wise?”
“Hi, Missy.” The woman’s voice was a whisper. “I’m sorry about earlier, but I couldn’t talk then.”
“Is everything okay?” Missy asked.
“Yes.” Mrs. Wise hesitated. “Well, no, not really. Let me be plain. Missy, I know why you were calling earlier.”
“You do?” Missy looked over her shoulder to see if Ron had come out or was watching her from the house. She didn’t see him anywhere.
“Yes.” Mrs. Wise took a deep breath. “I know about Karen and Connie. My husband does not. He was right in the room with me, so I’m sorry if I was abrupt.”
“Oh.” Missy didn’t know what to say.
“Karen didn’t feel comfortable telling him.”
“I’m…sorry.”
“It was a very difficult time for her and she started questioning everything in her life. She was really depressed about her job and about her weight and everything was just piling up on her.”
Mi
ssy said nothing.
Mrs. Wise went on. “When she and Connie broke up, she started spiraling. She actually started seeing that Ron Moore again.”
That Ron Moore. She’d said his name like it was a curse word.
“You didn’t approve?”
“No.” Mrs. Wise sighed. “Of all the people that should have understood her weight problem, Ron didn’t. He kept pressuring her about it. He thought everyone had been too easy on her and what she needed was tough love.”
Missy’s breath caught in her throat. “Things must have happened quickly, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Missy looked over her shoulder again. No sign of Ron anywhere. “Karen broke up with Connie only a month ago and—”
“No, she didn’t.”
“What?”
“Connie broke up with Karen, not the other way around.”
That was what Connie had told Missy, but she hadn’t believed the woman. But if Karen had told her mother this, that meant it was true.
So Connie hadn’t been lying about doing the breaking-up.
Mrs. Wise was still speaking. “And that happened more than a month ago. It’d been maybe four or five months…the only time Karen saw Connie was at those meetings. She avoided Connie.”
“Why?”
“Karen felt betrayed, like Connie had tricked her into a relationship when she was vulnerable. But I think Connie still cared for her and was just trying to make sure she was alright. Karen kept telling her to stay away from Ron. It was the right thing to tell her, but I don’t think Karen was ready to hear it.”
Missy’s knees felt weak.
“Missy, are you there?”
“I have to go,” Missy said.
“Is something the matter?”
Missy looked around, not seeing Ron anywhere. “Listen, Mrs. Wise, I need your help. This isn’t going to make sense but I’m at R—”
Then Ron smacked the phone out of her hand.
Chapter Nineteen
Ron’s boot made a crunching sound as he squashed her phone, then he picked up the pieces and tossed them carelessly aside.
“Ron, what are you doing?”
Some small part of Missy was still hoping that this wasn’t actually happening, that this tall, broad-shouldered man with clear emotional issues hadn’t had anything to do with Karen’s death.
But a larger part of her knew that wasn’t true.
Ron reached behind himself and pulled out a gun.
Missy gasped and held up her hands. Not only was he bigger and stronger and knew how to fight, he also had a gun on him. It wasn’t exactly pointed at her, but with a quick flick of the wrist he could have shot her inside of a second.
For a moment, Missy stood in horrified silence. Her whole body locked up. She’d started to tell Mrs. Wise she was at Ron’s house but the man had smacked the phone out of her hand mid-sentence. She racked her brain, trying to remember if she’d gotten his name out in time—
Ron started crying.
They were standing on his lawn, so there was a chance a neighbor across the street could see. But the houses across the way were mostly dark. After all, it was almost ten o’clock on a weeknight. The neighbors, for the most part, were probably in bed. And even worse, Ron’s lawn wasn’t very well lit. She’d be lucky if someone casually glanced out their window and even noticed the pair of them on his lawn. And even if that happened, it wouldn’t be obvious to them that Ron even had a weapon pointing in her general direction.
Missy thought about screaming, but then thought better of it. Any sudden movement or sound might scare him, scare him right into pulling the trigger instinctively, and at this distance he wasn’t going to miss.
Her legs began trembling and Missy wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and just disappear. She wanted to throw herself to the ground and beg for mercy. But she didn’t think that would help either.
She should have called Tyler. She should have finished her text to him before taking Mrs. Wise’s call. It was hard to believe, standing here right now, that both those decisions would have life-or-death consequences, but they did.
The only thing Missy could do now was try talking to him.
Ron wiped under his eyes with his free hand. He wasn’t really looking at her.
“Ron…” It took her a moment to find her voice. Her first words came out as choked squeaks. “Ron, I know you didn’t mean to hurt her.”
His chin dipped to his chest and he took a deep breath and held it. It seemed like he was trying to hold his tears in.
“I know you loved her,” Missy said, not really sure if she believed what she was saying or not, just knowing that words were here only defense at this point, and a weak one at that.
“More than anything,” he said.
Missy nodded, trying to understand, trying to see it from his point of view. Now that she’d had a moment to think it through, she thought she knew what had happened.
“You didn’t mean to hurt her,” she said again.
Miserable, he shook his head and finally brought his tear-filled eyes up to look at her. The gun was still pointed at the ground between them.
“You were trying to help her, weren’t you?”
He nodded vigorously and wiped under his eyes again. “Her low self-esteem made our relationship impossible, she was constantly down and always worried I’d cheat or leave her. I couldn’t take it so I called off the engagement…”
“And you regretted that decision ever since,” Missy filled in.
“No woman ever gave me the time of day,” Ron said. “No woman except Karen. I realized I’d made a mistake right away, breaking off the engagement but I knew I’d hurt her real bad so I couldn’t just go back…”
“You never stopped loving her.”
“Never.” He looked away and the gun lowered a fraction. If she could just keep him talking, she had a chance. As long as he was speaking, he wasn’t shooting her. “I reached out a few times but she rejected me. She said she didn’t want to get hurt again.”
“That must have hurt.”
“Not as bad as I hurt her,” Ron said, sounding very sincere. “She was special. But she just couldn’t get over being obese. It sucked the life right out of her and sapped her self-esteem.”
Missy wasn’t sure about where to take the conversation next, but knew she had to keep him talking. Slowly she lowered her hands and tried to relax. The more tense she was, the more tense he’d be.
She smiled sadly. “Then she called you?”
Ron tipped his head back and closed his eyes. He was getting worked up again. Missy couldn’t let that happen.
“It must have been so good to hear from her,” Missy said.
“It was,” he blurted out, his voice full of agony. “I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world. But when we started talking again, I realized she was even worse than when we’d broken up. Her job sucked, she felt like Connie had just taken advantage of her, and her weight was the worst it’d ever been. Therapy wasn’t helping. I just wanted to solve one of her problems. I thought if she lost a lot of weight quickly, she’d feel so much better about herself and maybe she’d get her self-esteem back…it would never work without her self-esteem, I knew that from the first time we were together.”
“So you…” Missy couldn’t bring herself to say the actual words.
“I went online and spent time on some diet forums. A bunch of people on there said that tape worms worked and they hadn’t had any problems. I did my own research too.”
Missy recalled all the articles she’d found. Ron had probably read the same ones.
She said, “Diarrhea, dehydration, death, but I didn’t see any stories where someone had actually died.”
“I didn’t either. She had arrhythmia so I didn’t want to give her any of those over-the-counters that sped up her metabolism.” He laughed ruefully. “I thought that wouldn’t be safe. So I bought the tape worm pills off some guy.”
�
��How did you get her to take them?” Missy asked, not able to help herself. The gun was now pointed at the ground.
“When we got together, she had one of her migraines and I gave the pills to her. They were generic-looking, she thought they were for the headache.”
Missy couldn’t help it now. She was crying again. “You were just trying to help.”
“I killed her.” That gun was inching up again.
“Ron, you didn’t kill her. She died. There’s a difference.”
The gun was about halfway up. Missy raised her hands.
“The cops won’t see it that way.”
“It was an accident.” Missy shook her head, knowing her argument was weak and that Ron was right. The cops would not see it that way. “You should get an attorney and bring yourself in. They’ll listen to you.”
“Murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide…” Ron shook his head. “I’ve done my research, Missy. I know they’ll get me on something. I can’t go to prison. I can’t go to prison.”
“You don’t know that, Ron.” She tried to put as much conviction in her voice as she could, but the words came out sounding pretty feeble. Ron would go to prison for something, and his sentence would probably be several years.
“I can’t go for a week, Missy. And I can’t have her death following me around the rest of my life. I’ll never get a job again or be with another woman or…my life is over…”
“Ron.”
The gun was pointed at her now.
“Ron, please.” She had run out of things to say. “Please.”
“I’m sorry I killed her, Missy.” Ron could barely speak through the tears. “I loved her more than anything, and I know you were her best friend.”
“So now you’re going to kill me?” Missy asked, her anger battling with her own fear. “Right out here on your lawn? You won’t get away with that.”
He took a step forward. “No. I’m going to do it in my basement. Come on.”
She had no choice now. Missy made up her mind to scream and try to run for it. She wouldn’t be able to get in her truck and drive away, but she could at least try to get to a neighbor’s house.
Diet Club Death: Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery #3 (Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries) Page 13