Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7)

by Teresa Watson

  “I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last man in the county,” I replied as I tried to brace myself against the wall so I could push him away from me. When that didn’t work, I started to raise my left leg to give him another shot in the family jewels again.

  “Tsk, tsk,” he said, pushing his leg between my legs to stop me, “you didn’t really think I was going to let you hit me twice, did you?” He pressed himself against me, and started kissing my neck.

  “Let go of me.”

  “I’m comfortable,” Winthrop said. “Besides, I have your undivided attention. Now, about dinner…I was thinking of an intimate dinner in my penthouse. I have a lovely view of downtown Dallas. When it is lit up at night, it’s very romantic. Who knows, you might change your mind, with a little candlelight, chocolate-covered strawberries dipped in whipped cream. Of course, the moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows gives off its own beauty.”

  “A root canal sounds more inviting.”

  “What name did Jake call you? Oh yeah, I remember. Come on, Lizzie, I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun. I really am a nice fellow, once you get to know me.”

  I tried to shove him away again. “I’ll scream if you don’t let me go.”

  “Won’t do you any good,” he laughed. “No one was out there when I came in.”

  I mentally slapped myself. Ellen had gone to talk to the injured girl’s family, and I had given everyone else the afternoon off to thank them for all the hard work they had done during the fair. “You do realize I’ve been recording this whole conversation,” I said.

  “Illegally taping someone without their consent is against the law.”

  “I know,” I admitted. “But someone might accidentally publish it online. And then what will you do?”

  “Oh, I’m sure I can take care of that before I leave this office,” he said, leaning over and kissing me roughly.

  Everything happened pretty quick after that. I heard the office door slam against the wall. Winthrop grunted as someone pulled him backwards, and I saw T.J. punch him in the face. Winthrop stumbled backwards and fell on the floor. T.J. bent over, yanked him to his feet, and punched him again, sending him flying out of the office and against the wall in the hallway. Winthrop slid down the wall and hit the floor. T.J. started to move toward him again.

  “Stop it! He’s had enough.” He stopped and looked at me. “Thomas Jefferson Roosevelt, what do you think you’re doing? I had everything under control. I don’t need to be rescued by the likes of you!” I said.

  I saw his eyes flicker over my arms and face. “You could have fooled me.”

  “Is he still alive?”

  T.J. bent over and checked Winthrop. “I think he hit his head against the wall. I might have broken his nose.”

  My legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor. T.J. rushed over and knelt in front of me. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  I looked over his shoulder at Winthrop, whose light blue shirt had turned crimson from the gush of blood pouring from his nose. “He was trying to apologize for his boorish behavior from our first meeting.”

  “Your first meeting? When was this?” I hadn’t told him what happened at the hotel the previous week. So I told him everything. “That’s his idea of an apology?”

  “No, I think that’s his idea of flirting,” I replied, gently rubbing my arms. “He was turned on by a woman standing up to him and telling him off.”

  T.J. gently took my right arm in his hand and pulled the short sleeve of my polo shirt up. There were red fingerprints from Winthrop’s strong grip. “Did he do that?”

  “I’m fine, T.J,” I said as a shiver went through me.

  He helped me to my feet. “I’m sure you are, but I’d still like to hold you for a minute, if you don’t mind.” I nodded, and he pulled me close. “You’re one heck of a woman, Lizzie Crenshaw,” he whispered quietly.

  “What’s going on in here?” Jake said, stepping over Winthrop’s feet as he came into the office.

  “Your friend came to apologize,” I told him.

  “And you responded by decking him?”

  “No, I decked him,” T.J. replied.

  Winthrop came to, and slowly got to his feet, holding his broken nose. “I’m going to have you both arrested,” he said. “Assault, illegal taping, and whatever other charges I can come up with.”

  “You’re lucky you can still breathe,” Jake snapped. “I thought I made it clear that you were to stay away from Lizzie.”

  “As if I’m going to take advice from you. Someone tell me where I can find the local police department.”

  T.J. walked over to Winthrop, who took a step back. “I’m a deputy sheriff. You want to file a complaint?”

  “I’ll have your badge.”

  “You can try,” T.J. told him. “But keep this in mind. I’m also a retired FBI agent. One phone call from me, and I’ll have every federal agency in the book all over you in less than an hour. I’m sure the press would be very interested in a federal raid on a prominent member of the community. What do you think?” Winthrop didn’t say anything. “Now, I suggest you get out of here before I have you arrested for assault and battery.”

  “You can’t prove anything.”

  T.J. got right in Winthrop’s face. “Try me. Now get out.”

  Winthrop looked over T.J.’s shoulder at me. “I’ll be in touch,” he said.

  “You come anywhere near her, and you’ll be thrown into jail for breaking the restraining order.”

  “What restraining order?”

  “The temporary one we’re going to be filing as soon as you leave,” Jake told him.

  Winthrop laughed. “You don’t have that kind of pull around here. I can have that thing dismissed an hour after you get it.”

  Jake looked at T.J. “You know, I think he looks a bit wobbly on his feet. Did he hit his head on the wall?”

  “Why, yes, I do believe he did,” T.J. nodded

  “I can’t, in good conscience, allow my old friend to walk out of here without some assistance. He could have a concussion; he might trip over a chair or a desk on his way out and hurt himself further. I think we should give him a helping hand, don’t you, Deputy Roosevelt?”

  “I do believe you are right, Mr. Mathias. It’s my civic duty to look after our citizens.”

  They each grabbed an arm, and led Winthrop out of the office, down the hallway and into the newsroom. I followed and watched as they “accidentally” ran into a desk once or twice before they made it to the front door. Jake opened it, and they dragged him outside, where his driver was leaning against the limo. I saw him raise an eyebrow at the sight of his boss being held up by two men. He looked back at me, and I could tell he realized what had happened. Shaking his head, he pushed himself off the limo, walked to the back door and opened it.

  “Watch your head,” T.J. said, bending Winthrop over before shoving him into the limo.

  Jake made sure Winthrop’s feet were inside the limo. “Thanks for stopping by, and don’t come back, Ethan. Don’t think I won’t call your father about this, so I suggest you stay away from all of us.” He slammed the door shut and stepped back.

  The limo driver came over to me. “You’ve got some good friends, ma’am,” he said. “Don’t worry, I won’t bring him back here, and I’ll make sure the other drivers know to stay away as well. I can do that much, but he does have his own car, so watch yourself. Once he gets his mind set on something, there’s no stopping him.”

  “Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.”

  “Yes, ma’am, you’re welcome. Gentlemen,” he said, nodding at T.J. and Jake before getting into the limo and driving away.

  Chapter 6

  We went back to the office. I sat down in my chair, put my elbows on the desk with my head in my hands, and massaged my forehead. Jake put a cold Dr Pepper in front of me. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I nodded
. “Want to tell me what was going on?”

  We told him what happened. Jake shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Lizzie. I don’t know how he found out you worked here.”

  “Background check probably,” T.J. replied.

  “The Winthrops always have one or two private detectives on their payroll,” Jake said. “Have you noticed anyone following you this past week?”

  “I’ve been too busy working,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t think I got home before ten every night last week.”

  T.J.’s phone rang, and he stepped into the hallway to take the call. Jake came around and knelt beside me. “Lizzie, I am so sorry I wasn’t here when he came in,” he said quietly. He noticed the bruises on my wrist and winced. “Did he do this?”

  “Some of it was my fault. I tried to jerk my arm free.”

  He shook his head. “I meant to be here earlier, but I was upset about Dale leaving you the majority shares of the newspaper. I didn’t come sooner because I was mad at you.”

  “I understand. I want you to know I didn’t ask him for this. Frankly, I thought he was going to sell it to you.”

  “Me too,” he said ruefully. “But once I stopped being mad, I thought about his reasons, and I realized he was right. I don’t have the sensitivity to do what you do. But I’ll do what I can to keep the money coming in.” He held out his hand. “Partners?”

  “Partners,” I agreed, shaking his hand.

  T.J. came back into the office, and Jake moved back to the other side of the desk. “That has got to be the world’s speed record for getting through to someone in charge at the FBI office,” he said, sitting down. “Hopkins called to warn me that someone had called to complain about a retired agent throwing his weight around and assaulting him.”

  “How much trouble are you in?” I said.

  “I don’t know yet, but I doubt I will be once I explain everything to them. Did you really record what happened?”

  “To be honest with you, I don’t know,” I admitted, picking up my phone. “I’ve never used the recording app on my phone before.”

  “Let me see it.” I gave it to him. He pushed a few buttons, and then I heard Winthrop’s voice come through the small speaker. We listened to the whole conversation.

  “This is great,” he said, pulling out his own phone. “We can use it to get that restraining order. What even made you think to record the conversation?” he asked as a loud banging came from the front door. “You want me to get that?”

  I got up, walked to the doorway of my office, and saw Owen peering through the window. “Uh oh, it’s Owen, and he doesn’t look very happy.”

  When I unlocked the door, Owen pushed past me and said, “Why is there an arrogant rich man with a bloody nose standing in my office, demanding that I arrest you, T.J. and Jake?”

  I led him back to the office, where we played the recording for him, and I showed him the bruises on my upper arms and wrist. “What are you going to do, Owen?” I said.

  “Right now, I’m going to resist the urge to go back to my office and give him two black eyes to go with that broken nose. We need to get some pictures of those bruises for the report.”

  “Do we have enough to file for a temporary restraining order?”

  Owen scratched his beard. “We might, but the problem is going to be that recording. You did do it without his consent, although you did tell him about it, and he technically didn’t tell you to stop.”

  “I can call Stephen Henderson,” Jake said. He a friend of Jake’s who had defended Gladys when she was accused of killing her husband during the county fair. “He probably knows a judge he can call to get a TRO.”

  “Good idea,” Owen nodded. “Let’s get some good pictures of your arms. And maybe you should go to the hospital or to your doctor, let them check you out. Just to make sure nothing is broken.”

  “He just twisted my wrist pretty good, and grabbed my arms. I don’t need to see a doctor for that,” I protested.

  “Owen wants you to file assault charges, Lizzie,” T.J. said, looking over at Owen for confirmation. “It will also strengthen your chances of getting a TRO.”

  “I think we should do our own background check on Mr. Winthrop,” Owen replied. “He’s your friend, Jake. Has he done things like this in the past?”

  “A few times,” Jake admitted. “His father took care of things whenever there was a problem.”

  “Well, he’s not going to be able to sweep this one under the rug,” I said. “I can’t be bought.”

  Jake looked at me funny, as if he knew about Debra’s will and all the money she had left me. “I’ll drive her to the doctor,” he said. “I’m sure you two will have your hands full dealing with Ethan.”

  “I’ll call Hopkins back,” T.J. said, “and see what we can dig up on your friend.”

  “And I’ll let Winthrop think we’re taking his claims seriously. I’ll ask him to give me a day or two to investigate. That will give us time to gather everything we need to take to a judge.”

  I followed them to the front door. “Don’t go anywhere by yourself for a couple of days,” Owen warned me. “I have a feeling Winthrop isn’t going to give up.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry I’m causing you so much trouble.”

  He put his big right hand gently on my shoulder. “Lizzie, this is one time when you’re actually not causing me any trouble at all. I’m proud of the way you stood up for yourself. You handled things the right way. When this is over, we should sign you up for a self-defense course, just to sharpen your skills. And your mother would be proud of you, too.” He squeezed my shoulder before he moved his hand. “I’ll call Trixie and…”

  I shook my head. “I’ll call her later. I don’t want her to worry about me while she’s out of town.”

  “She’s going to be ticked if I don’t call her.”

  “Please.”

  “Your funeral. Make sure the doctor writes up a report for me.” He got into his patrol car and drove away.

  T.J. gave me a hug. “I’ll come by tonight after I get off work. What would you like to eat? I’ll stop and get something.”

  “Surprise me.”

  “You got it.” He gave me a kiss. “Thanks, Jake,” he said, shaking his hand. “Stay with her until I get to the house.”

  “I will.”

  T.J. put his hand on my cheek for a moment before he got into his truck and left. “That man really loves you,” Jake said as he watched T.J. drive off.

  “I know.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “I’m working on it. The trust isn’t totally there yet, but we’re working on it.”

  “It will come back,” he said, leading me back inside and locking the door. “Why don’t we sign the paperwork before we leave? I’ll call Dale and let him know they’re ready for him to pick up. I’ve got some ideas for our paper that I want to start working on.”

  I followed him to the office, we finished reading over the papers, and then we signed them. We were the new owners of The Brookdale News.

  Oh, boy, what did I just get myself into?

  And what was I going to do about Ethan Winthrop?

  Chapter 7

  The trip to the doctor earned us a lot of glances from people in the waiting room. Most of them were dirty looks for Jake; they assumed that he was the reason for the now very visible bruising on my upper arms and wrist. There was no way we could explain to everyone what had happened, because we didn’t want it spreading across town like wildfire.

  The nurse showed us to a room, made a few notes in my chart, gave Jake a disapproving glare, and left. “You realize what people are going to say, don’t you?” he said.

  “You’ve never cared what anyone thought before, why start now?”

  “Because this is the one thing that I would prefer not to be associated with, thank you very much.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I do appreciate you coming with me.”

  He grunted in response as Dr. Chr
istopher Adams came into the room. In his mid-40s, with salt and pepper hair, he was wearing his usual rumpled lab coat over green scrubs. “Well, I haven’t seen you in a while,” he said as he read the chart before putting it on the counter. He shook hands with Jake before pulling his stool over and sitting down in front of me. “These are some nasty looking bruises you’ve got here, Lizzie.” He glanced at Jake, who scowled back at him.

  “It wasn’t Jake, Dr. A,” I told him, and explained what happened. “There are witnesses.”

  “Sounds like this man needs to be thrown in jail.”

  “That’s why we need an examination and some pictures,” I said. “Owen says he’d like it to be an official report.”

  “Of course, I can do that. I apologize, Mr. Mathias, for what I was thinking.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m sure that was a rather unpleasant experience, sitting out there with everyone treating you like I did.” Jake shrugged. “Obviously you care very much for your girlfriend.”

  “We’re not dating, Doc, just friends,” Jake told him.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Positive,” I told him.

  “Mmmm hmmm,” Dr. Adams said, clearly not believing us. He picked my right wrist, turning it over to look at the other side. “This is going to hurt, I’m afraid.” As he squeezed my wrist, checking for a broken bone, I bit my lip to keep from crying. “It doesn’t feel like anything is broken, but let’s get an x-ray anyway. There’s not much I can do about the bruising on your upper arms. They’ll probably be sore for a few days, and the bruises will last a couple of weeks minimum.” He stood up and pushed the stool back in the corner. “I’ll send the nurse in to take you for the x-ray. Can I at least tell her what’s going on?”