by Cindy Bell
“What questions could he have?” Janet asked with annoyance. “There was plenty of evidence, from what I've been told.”
“You have to remember Nick is an excellent detective,” Bekki explained calmly. “He's not easily fooled.”
“Fooled? What is that supposed to mean?” Janet asked with some confusion.
Before Bekki could answer Stacey began openly flirting with one of the waiters. Even to Bekki it was a little extreme. She glanced away as if it was too much for her to watch.
“Shameless,” Janet huffed. “That's what she is, shameless. She's married!”
“I know,” Bekki said quietly. “Some women don't care if they're married, and some don't care if the men they're with are married,” she added as if it was just a tidbit of information. This information enraged Janet however. Especially when the waiter sat down at the table with Stacey to pour her drink.
“Oh, Bekki, is that you?” Stacey asked as she turned in her chair. She smiled at both of the women at the table.
“It is,” Bekki replied warmly.
“Mind if I join you?” Stacey asked hopefully. “I'm flying solo these days.”
Janet opened her mouth to argue but before she could Bekki nodded.
“Please, join us,” she said.
“Thank you,” Stacey said as she sat down at the table between Bekki and Janet. “How are you doing today, Janet?” Stacey asked with concern.
“That's it!” Janet said and stood up from the table. She threw down her napkin onto her plate and glared at Stacey. “How can you even sit at this table?” she demanded.
“What do you mean, Janet?” Stacey asked as she looked up at her innocently. Bekki heard a slight whistle from the door of the café. She looked over to see that Nick had arrived just in time. He walked over to the table. As the tension grew between the two women, Nick slid in between the two, and Bekki stepped closer to Stacey.
“I mean, you can't sit at this table and claim to be supporting me, when everyone here knows that you were having an affair with my husband!” she shouted and bumped into the table in her attempt to get to Stacey. Nick moved swiftly and held her back.
“Is that what you thought, Janet?” Bekki asked softly. “It must have been so torturous to have someone you love so much betray you. To think of him sneaking off with Stacey while you were sitting at home alone,” Bekki shook her head slowly. “It's no wonder that you were so angry.”
“That wasn't the worst part,” Janet gulped out as she strained against Nick's grasp on her arms. “The worst part was he lied to me about it. He said that nothing was happening, that I was the only woman for him. But then he went out with her again!” she shrieked her last words.
“You must have been so hurt,” Bekki coaxed again. “You followed him, didn't you, Janet?”
“I had to know for sure,” Janet admitted as her wild emotions faded into an eerie quiet. “Then he wanted me to play golf with Stacey and him, he acted like it was no big deal,” she paused a moment.
“Then what happened, Janet?” Bekki asked softly. “When you fought with him, what happened?”
“He said he wanted to go early, to hit a few balls,” she rolled her eyes. “I knew what that really meant, that he was going to meet her,” she glared fiercely in Stacey's direction. “It wasn't his fault you know,” she added sadly. “Not all his fault. If Stacey had just kept away from him none of this would have happened. She was married, she had a good life, why did she need to ruin mine?” she asked Bekki desperately.
“What did you do, Janet?” Bekki looked into the other woman's eyes. “It's time to tell the truth.”
“What does it matter now?” Janet said softly. “My life is over, all because of her,” she glared at Stacey again. “I followed him to the country club, only to find that it was closed! Another lie he told me. I confronted him in the parking lot, he tried to pretend he was leaving. I took one of his precious golf clubs and I threw it across the green. He chased after it, and I chased after him. We ended up by the pond. He was screaming, just screaming! He was saying horrible things to me, told me I was crazy. Like I was the one that was doing something wrong,” she grimaced at that.
“I grabbed the golf club from him. He tried to grab it back. I was just so angry. I wrenched it from his hands,” she continued. She closed her eyes and her hands curled involuntarily as if they were still gripping the golf club. “I hit him. I just wanted him to listen. To understand how much pain he had caused me,” she shuddered as a tear slipped past her dark lashes. “But he crumpled up like a doll,” she breathed out. “I thought he was just trying to make me feel guilty, but he wouldn't wake up. She'd done it. She'd taken everything from me,” fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. Bekki felt Stacey trembling. She placed a hand firmly on the woman's arm to calm her.
“So, you decided to take everything from her?” Bekki suggested softly.
“I knew that the side door of Stacey's garage would be open. She always left it open. I'd gone there once to borrow a weeder, and she told me to go right in. I had seen Dave's ratty old golf clubs inside. So, I drove to Stacey's. I snagged one of Dave's clubs so he would take the fall for Josh's death and Stacey would know what it was like to lose the love of her life. When I saw her makeup kit on the floor of the garage I couldn’t believe my luck, it must have dropped out of her purse. So, I took that and her cigarettes that she hid in the garage to make it look like she was in on the murder, too. I was going to make sure she paid for what she had done to my Josh,” she sobbed out and shook her head. “I tossed Josh's club into the pond, into the water, and I left Dave's there beside his body. I then placed the makeup kit near the body and I lit one of Stacey's cigarettes and left it to burn.”
Nick closed his eyes for a moment. Bekki could see the disgust flickering across his features.
“Janet, you're under arrest for the murder of your husband, Joshua,” Nick said as he grabbed her hands behind her back and cuffed her.
“But, don't you see?” Janet asked urgently. “Don't you see that it wasn't me? Stacey was the one that caused all of this! She's the one that should be arrested!”
“Oh, Janet,” Stacey stared at her with horror. She clung onto Bekki's arm to keep her steady. “I was seeing Josh, but it wasn't like that. We were planning a surprise honeymoon for you. Josh wanted to give you your dream vacation since you didn't get to go right away. He wanted it to be a secret. That's why he was sneaking off!”
Janet's expression filled with shock. “You're lying,” she whispered.
“No, I'm not,” Stacey countered. “I can prove it. I have the tickets that he paid for the day before you killed him,” she said, her own voice labored with the tragedy of the situation.
“No, no,” Janet gasped out as she stared at Stacey. “You're lying. You were lying when you pretended to be my friend and you're lying to me now.”
“I'm sorry, Janet,” Stacey said, her voice trembling. “But it's true. You committed a horrible crime, all because you were so jealous. It was not Josh's fault, or my fault,” Stacey narrowed her eyes. “It was your fault, Janet!”
Janet's knees buckled so swiftly that Nick had to hold tightly to her arms to keep her from falling. As she dissolved into sobs Nick escorted her out of the café to the waiting squad car. Bekki hugged Stacey gently as the woman wiped at her eyes.
“I can't believe she did it,” Stacey murmured. “I never would have thought she could do something like this, Bekki. Poor Josh, he loved her so dearly. For her to do this to him, all because of me,” she choked on her last words.
“It’s not your fault, Stacey,” Bekki said firmly.
“If only we had seen it,” Stacey said wistfully. “If only we had noticed.”
After handing over Janet, Nick returned to the café. He smiled at Stacey.
“Dave will be home within the hour,” he said warmly to her. “I'm sorry that it wasn't sooner.”
“Nick, I can't ever thank you and Bekki enough,” Stacey said with a sh
ake of her head. “Without the two of you staging this Janet never would have confessed. Dave would still be in jail, and I would soon be joining him.”
“I keep telling him we make a good team,” Bekki said with a sly smile as she looked over at Nick. Nick returned a patient smile.
“I'll have one of the officers drive you,” he said gently to Stacey.
“Thank you,” Stacey said and walked out of the café. She paused at the door and cast a small smile back over her shoulder to Nick and Bekki. Bekki knew that it would take more than Dave being released to heal the couple, but at least it was a start.
Chapter Eleven
The next day Bekki convinced Nick to stop over at her parents’ house. She wanted to clear the air between all of them as soon as possible.
“I don't know about this,” Nick said hesitantly as they walked up to the door.
“Trust me, Nick, my dad is a great guy, he's not going to hold a grudge,” she assured him as she opened the door. “He’s always liked you.”
“Bekki!” Marie chirped as soon as they walked in. “I heard about what happened at the café. Are you okay?” she asked with urgency as she hugged her daughter.
“I'm okay,” Bekki nodded. “It's still hard to believe, to be honest. But when I saw Janet wearing the shade of lipstick that was on the cigarette left at the scene, I suspected that she was trying to frame Dave and Stacey for the murder. Stacey has never worn a shade of red that bright,” she pointed out.
“It's a good thing you're so clever,” Robert said as he walked out of the kitchen. He eyed Nick still standing by the door. “Come on in now, before you air condition the whole neighborhood.”
Nick flushed and quickly closed the door.
“Nice to see you, Robert,” he nodded slightly.
“If it wasn't for Nick, Dave would still be in jail,” Bekki pointed out as she felt the tension grow between the men.
“If it wasn't for Nick, Dave wouldn't have been there in the first place,” Robert pointed out.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “I told you this was a bad idea, Bekki.”
“Robert,” Marie growled. “The only reason Dave was in jail was because he was framed by Janet. If any other detective, not as talented or as intelligent as our lovely son-in-law, would have taken the case, Dave would have gone away to prison. He took the time to make sure the evidence made sense, and when it didn't he looked into it.”
Nick smiled a little at Marie's words.
Robert sighed heavily. “I know, I know,” he nodded and looked back at Nick. “I have to be honest, I wanted to be angry at you. But when I thought about how you went the extra mile to treat Dave with respect, I realized I was being harsh for no reason. I really appreciate the work that you did here, Nick,” he said as he offered Nick his hand for a handshake.
Bekki smiled and winked at her mother. Nick took her father's hand, but before he could shake it, Robert pulled him into a quick hug. Nick looked a little uncomfortable but he returned it and came away with a warm smile.
“So, Nick,” Robert said as he clapped his son-in-law on the shoulder. “What do you say we have another go at that game of golf?” he asked with a smile.
Nick tried to cover a grimace, but Bekki caught sight of it. She had to stifle a laugh.
“I'm not sure I’ll ever get the hang of it again,” he said with a frown.
“It just takes time, son,” Robert said gently. “It's a game of finesse, of patience, like being married to my daughter.”
“Dad!” Bekki cried out and swatted at him.
Nick couldn't help but laugh loudly. “Well, in that case, it's worth the practice,” he grinned and winked at Bekki.
As the small family shared a meal together, Bekki felt a sense of relief. She knew that Nick still felt a little uneasy, but she hadn't missed her father calling Nick 'son' and she knew that Nick hadn't either. It felt wonderful to Bekki to have the three people she loved the most sitting down at the table together.
The End
More Cozy Mysteries by Cindy Bell
Wendy the Wedding Planner Cozy Mysteries
Matrimony, Money and Murder
Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mysteries
Hairspray and Homicide
A Dyed Blonde and a Dead Body
Mascara and Murder
Pageant and Poison
Conditioner and a Corpse
Mistletoe, Makeup and Murder
Hairpin, Hair Dryer and Homicide
Blush, a Bride and a Body
Shampoo and a Stiff
Cosmetics, a Cruise and a Killer
Dune House Cozy Mystery Series
Seaside Secrets
Boats and Bad Guys
Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mysteries
Murdering the Roses
Dead in the Daisies
Killing the Carnations
Drowning the Daffodils
Suffocating the Sunflowers
Books, Bullets and Blooms