by J R Pearson
Twenty missed phone calls.
Thirty-five unread text messages.
And seventeen new voice mail messages.
Courtesy of the whole Peterson clan. They absolutely deserved to know what was going on.
Which they would get a full explanation for… later on.
For now, I just wanted to enjoy a pancake and bacon breakfast with Detective Sexy in a Suit. I changed into the clothes Josh ended up picking. Surprisingly and a bit strangely, he had a keen sense of style for women’s fashion. I wore a mint-colored blouse, white shorts—fingers crossed I don’t drip maple syrup on them—and brown leather flats. My hair was pulled back into a bun. How was I able to tame the beast, you ask? The answer came in the form of a gallon of gel with the consistency of cement.
I had half an hour left before Caleb arrived, so I used the time to clean my car. The task was insanely random, but I was bored and it needed to be done. I couldn’t spend my money on air fresheners forever. Not to dirty up my outfit, I’d tidy the interior and later go to the car wash and hose off the exterior and vacuum the seats. Someone, though I expected it was Mandy, had written “Wash me! I’m begging you!” in the patch of dust my rear window. I began by shoving the front seat back, then doing the same to the passenger seat.
Holy, cheeseballs. I really needed to change my ways.
There were so many crumbs on the floor it looked like a second layer of carpet. Empty takeout bags and used napkins also added a layer on the floor. It’s okay. You’re free to judge. I deserve it. I collected trash from under the seat when a small familiar red and white checkered box caught my eye.
An Enzo’s to-go box.
Chapter Eighteen
Odd. Why was that there? I lifted the lid and the smell of hot mold punched me in the face.
Son of a bitch. The missing pizza.
That explained the rank smell. I must’ve been so tired from working the closing shift that I’d forgotten to bring the pizza inside. I just assumed I did and Mandy had eaten it. What was once bright red and glistening sauce, golden brown crust, and white mozzarella was now shriveled and stiff. Fluffy green mold engulfed the whole slice. A beetle scurried along the side of the box, making me yelp and drop it.
I could leave it and pretend it’s not mine….
Something glittery in the sauce caught the sunlight and sparkled. Was I that curious to dig around a moldy pizza to see what it was?
A little.
“Why am I weird?” I asked myself. I found an old plastic fork and crouched down, peeling away the hardened sauce. The glittery object was small and hard, embedded in the crust. The more I played with it, the more funk unleashed into my face. I dry heaved a few times, but I finally got the object out.
No. Fucking. Way.
It was a diamond.
“My Anthony showered me in diamonds all the time,”
“How can a small-town cook afford a big house?”
“I suspect they were helping Johnson smuggle the diamonds out of Greenville. I haven’t figured out how yet.”
“Watch your back.”
It all made sense.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Caleb.
“Hey.”
“Caleb! You won’t believe—”
“You’ve reached the voice mail of Caleb Evans, leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Beep!
“Dammit! I know why I’m being targeted. I found-Uh!” Something hard hit the back of my skull. I dropped to the ground on all fours, vision blurring. My phone skidded underneath the car.
“Ca…leb,”
Then darkness.
I lay on my side on a wooden floor. Lifting myself up caused my stomach to roll and head to spin. It felt like it had been tumbling around in a dryer. My vision cleared enough for me to see I was in a dining room of an unfamiliar house. Breathe, Jennie. Just breathe. I exhaled through my nose. Take the dispatcher’s advice and remain calm.
Okay. I can do that. My fingers lightly touched the throbbing area on my head. It was met with wetness that I was sure was not a glob of leftover hair gel. Bye-bye, calm. Hello, panic attack. Where the hell am I? Whose house is this? Am I even still in Greenville?
“You’re awake.” A man standing in the doorway smiled. He wore all black and held a gun. It was pale-eyed Tyler Cunningham.
Or I should say Cody Johnson, the asshole who jacked up my apartment.
“Find your aunt’s dog yet?” I glared at him.
“Sadly, no. Now shut the hell up and show me your hands,” he snapped.
Best not to provoke the man holding a gun on you, I thought as I complied with his demand. Somewhere in the house, a door slammed, followed by heavy footsteps.
“It’s about time.” A tall woman joined him. She turned to smile down at me, and my heart stopped.
Debbie.
She snatched the gun away from Cody, yanking his collar. “Why aren’t you loading the truck?”
“I wanted to show you this.” Cody held up the small diamond I found, smiling like a student trying to impress their teacher.
“Perfect.” Debbie smirked, then cackled at my confused look. “I know you’ve both met already, but I’ll still go ahead and make the introductions. Cody, this is Jennie. Jennie, this is Cody. My cousin.”
Yet again, I was blindsided with another awkward family connection.
“Cody here is my somewhat trusted diamond carrier to our boat in JewelCove. Kinda funny that he had enough time to ransack your apartment while you were rubbing elbows with Maria, huh? Although, I may or may not have let it slip that you would be.” She smirked.
I’ve never been so angry in my life as I am at this moment.
“Why are you saying all of this to her? She could tell somebody.” Cody deeply frowned.
Debbie looked at her cousin like he was stupid.
“Hang on, let me think…. Oh! Maybe it’s because I’m going to kill her and it won’t matter if I say a damn thing,” she snapped. For a few beats, Cody stared at her, puzzled. Then as if finally understanding a bad joke, his eyes lit up.
“Okay, good.” He gave her a thumbs-up, then walked out the room.
“That’s why I’m in charge,” Debbie mumbled. “Idiot.”
In charge? She started all of this?
Once more, the gun was directed on me.
“Get up. Try anything and I’ll put a bullet in you.” Her tone was harsh. The Debbie I’d worked and joked alongside with at Enzo’s no longer existed.
I was the idiot. Believing she was trying to help me find the faceless threat, and yet it was her. My head still pounding, I got up.
“To the living room. Slowly!”
My hands still raised, I took the longest walk of my life. As my legs moved, I didn’t feel the solid square of my cell phone in any pockets. Crap, it skidded across the parking lot. No way to call for help, I was on my own.
Debbie ordered me to stand by the fireplace. The mantle was decorated with antique vases. My body shielded an iron fire poker set. A plan began to take shape. It was risky but I was willing to try. All I needed was a distracted Debbie to make it work.
Chapter Nineteen
“You said something about being in charge. How do you fit into this? When?” I asked.
Debbie hesitated before answering.
“From the very beginning. It was about a month ago. Cody came to me, needing a place to lay low. Said he was caught up with the law. Instead of forcing him to turn himself in, I encouraged him to continue his… corrupted ways. He wanted money and so did I. Since he became sloppy and had several police forces breathing down his neck, I took over, appointing myself as leader. And thought of a creative way to smuggle the diamonds.”
I had to admit it was kinda clever transporting stolen jewels in pizza.
Crazy Debbie busted out laughing, becoming the poster child of sociopathy. “My goodness, it was hilarious watching you search Anthony’s office. Especially seeing your face when you thought
you found something important.” She smirked. The fear inside me completely subsided as my anger boiled. I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.
“Why kill Anthony and Luca?” I managed to say without outright calling her a sick bitch.
“I had no choice!” she shouted. I jumped, bumping into the iron set. “Anthony wanted no part once he found out you grabbed the slice containing a diamond. He panicked, thinking you would call the police after finding it,” she explained.
I shook my tender head.
“I left it in my car.”
“I figured as much. I told Anthony to relax and to have you come in the next morning and discuss it.”
That explained the “Ashley is sick” lie. Behind me, I touched the cold handle of the poker. Keep her talking.
“You shot him instead.”
“One look at Anthony’s face and I knew he still wanted to back out. And as I said before, I’m in charge and I determine who’s in or not.” With each word Debbie’s voice grew louder. She shrugged, confessing, “So I killed him.”
“Luca saw what you did,” I guessed. “That’s why you killed him.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Not quite, but very good try. Maybe there’s hope for you becoming an ace detective after all.” She cocked her head to the side. “It’s a shame you won’t be alive to see it happen.” Debbie cackled. “Cody was the one who killed Luca. Bad idea on my part, sending him to do it. Stupid Cody leaves behind more bread crumbs than a toddler during snack time. It’s okay, though. I’ve already made arrangements to escape before police gets to us.” She smiled smugly. My hand curled around the handle.
“A trip around the world sounds lovely.” She gazed out the window.
Looking away was another bad idea on her part.
I threw the iron poker at her and then ran out the room. I reached the hallway when a hard grip pulled my hair. I cried out as Debbie dragged me back into the living room. Pain exploded in my head, causing black dots to dance in front of me. Please, don’t pass out. She slammed me against a bookcase hard enough to make the books fall.
Her hand closed around my throat. Panic settled in again.
“This is when you’re supposed to beg me to spare your pathetic life,” she hissed. I used my left hand to claw at hers while the right gripped a hard object from the shelf.
“Not from me, bitch.” I hit her in the face with what turned out to be a candle holder. Not big, but it did the job of forcing Debbie to loosen her grip. Adrenaline surged through me, and the determination of not wanting to die unleashed my inner deranged lunatic. I tackled Debbie into the large coffee table. The table’s legs snapped underneath us, sending magazines and a glass bowl flying. We fell with a loud boom. I landed on my wrist wrong, no doubt broken; I rolled away, cradling it.
Debbie recovered faster than me and kneed my side, more pain blooming. I noticed she no longer held the gun, probably losing it on the way down. Above my head, I reached for the glass bowl. My fingers touched the edge. Almost there. Debbie grabbed my right ankle. With my left I used her as leverage, kicking off to reach the bowl. My side where she’d kneed me didn’t like me twisting it to grab the bowl. Still, I managed and swung it around, using every ounce of my strength left to bash it against Debbie’s temple. She instantly dropped.
“What’s with the ruckus, Debs?” Cody walked in and then stopped short, his eyes widening at Debbie’s limp body.
“You killed her!” he screamed, pulling out a pocket knife.
“No, I—”
Before he lunged, a figure body-slammed him to the carpeted floor. The figure wrestled the knife away and then smashed his fist into Cody’s nose, knocking him out cold.
“Is this how all our dates are going to start off?” my hero asked. Boy, was I happy to see Caleb. Behind him, police officers swarmed into the house.
“You’re here.” Even though I hurt everywhere, I smiled at the handsome detective.
“I am.” He assessed my wounds, yelling for someone to call the paramedics before kissing my forehead.
“How’d you find me? Be quick, I’m fading fast here.”
“I came to pick you up and some woman walking her ferret—don’t ask—was screaming that she saw a man fitting Cody’s description drag you into a truck.” Caleb glanced back at Cody who was being taken away by officers. Caleb looked like he wanted to go a few more rounds with him.
“I was in the middle of assembling a search team when West Emily’s lab contacted me with the results of Luca’s phone. He sent your picture to Johnson. They dug deeper and found detailed conversations about drop-offs and payments sent to a Debbie Wilson, who was listed as an employee at Enzo’s. Thinking she was also connected, I got her address and raced over here. Luckily, I picked this location first.” Caleb placed a pillow under my head.
“I tried… calling you.” My voice cracked.
“I know. Your message went through. I never want to hear anything like that again.”Caleb glanced around us, taking in the damage. “You put up quite a fight. I’m proud.”
Hearing him say that warmed me. It was a good change from what I was feeling minutes before. EMTs gathered around and lifted me onto something soft, my body lax against the comfort.
That time I welcomed the darkness.
Chapter Twenty
“A sprained wrist and a mild concussion,” a low voice said.
“Ouchy. Is that all?” another said. Meatball Mandy?
“Besides a few scrapes, she’s also got a papercut on her pinky.”
Ugh, the dreaded paper cut.
“She’s so pale, Jim. Our baby!” My mom, obviously.
“The doctor said Jennie will make a full recovery.” That came from my dad. More loud sobs erupted. I was becoming more awake but debated whether or not to open my eyes.
“She will be perfectly fine, Ma.” Kevin? No, Kyle? “Jennie’s tough. Even though she’s the size of a leprechaun.” Definitely Kent. When this leprechaun wakes up, she’s coming for your ankles!
“Very tough,” someone murmured. Here I am barely conscious with a horrible headache, yet I could recognize that voice anywhere. It’s like a buttery lobster roll wrapped in bacon and dipped in chocolate sauce to my ears.
“Who are you, again?” Kent demanded.
“I’m Detective Evans. I can assure you the perpetrators who harmed Jennie have been arrested.”
My ears perked up. Good. Debbie and Cody can go rot in a jail cell for all I care. No more fear. Although Anthony and Luca weren’t saints, they still didn’t deserve to die.
“Make sure it stays that way, young man. I don’t want these people coming after my daughter again,” my dad growled.
“I guarantee it, sir,” Caleb said smoothly, not intimidated at all by my family. He must be part alien. Any normal human being would’ve run for the hills, screaming their freakin’ head off by now.
“That’s fine and dandy, Mr. Cool Cop,” Kyle said. “But answer this. Why are you holding my sister’s hand?” Awareness fully reached and, sure enough, a heavy warm hand encased mine.
Caleb remained silent.
Then….
“Jennie is special to me.”
Hot damn!
“Excuse me, Detective?” I heard my mom edge closer. “Do you prefer a spring or summer wedding?”
Oh jeez, where’s a nurse with an anesthesia needle when you need one?
The days that came and went were of pure bliss. Currently Caleb and I sat on my couch, eating popcorn and watching an old action movie. Mandy was out with Josh again, so we had the whole apartment to ourselves.
“Any ideas yet?” Caleb asked, wrapping his arm around me. I greedily drank in his refreshing scent.
“A few.” Lately, I’ve been searching for a new job. Enzo’s reopened, but I wouldn’t be returning. Aside from the murders, Debbie nearly choking me to death, and the eerie sight of pizza, I was ready to start something new.
Be something new.
After I quit pr
etending to be unconscious in the hospital bed to avoid the wrath of my mom, Caleb explained finding more bags of diamonds hidden in the basement of Debbie’s house and recovering the ones being loaded in Cody’s truck. A call to the police headquarters in JewelCove led those officers to seize the boat Debbie and her cousin were going to use to sail away. On board, they found boxes of moldy pizza containing the diamonds. I did not envy the people tasked to dig them out. The gun Debbie threatened me with was the same used to kill Anthony. Caleb said it was going to be an easy conviction since Cody revealed her whole scheme, calling her the brains of the operation. Debbie’s back against the wall, she confessed too. That and a very thorough ass-chewing from my mom safely behind me, I was settled at home and finally breathing again.
During the time of my recovery, Caleb would come straight over from work to play doctor. But not the kind where I got to see his special stethoscope. Although my wrist, which was healing fine, didn’t need much attention, his company was soothing. Hours were spent talking, learning more about each other. The real kicker was finding out he was three years and three days older than me. Luckily it didn’t go further to three hours and three seconds because I don’t deal with that cosmic voodoo shit.
One night, while we were cuddled underneath a blanket on the couch, the teasing kisses and light caresses that transpired left me on fire. For my sake, he was being extra careful with me, which was really sweet. However, my wrist didn’t need to participate in what I had in mind.
“I know what I want to do,” I said, making my decision on the job front.
“And what might that be?” He curled a strand of hair behind my ear.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. I’m actually surprised I hadn’t—”
“Out with it.”
“Okay, okay.” I straightened to look him in the eye. “I want to be… a bartender!”
“Where at?”
“At Triple B’s!”
“Seriously?” He wasn’t looking at me like I was crazy, so that was good. Though, why would he? Burgers and beer, how could anyone resist?