“Come on, Jake,” T.J. said, “that’s a load of bull, and you know it.”
“I’m just trying to make things easier.”
“Fine, whatever. When she gets there, call me. I’m going to lay down for a while.” I hung up on him.
“What’s wrong?” T.J. asked.
“I’m just tired, that’s all,” I said, standing up. “I’ll be in my room.”
It felt good to lay down for a while. I felt like I was on information overload. Unfortunately, the dream I had did nothing to help me relax. There was Edward, wearing a crown and sitting on a throne, while Ethan flirted with all of the ladies in waiting. Suddenly, an arrow came shooting into the throne room, lodging itself in Ethan’s shoulder. I looked around, trying to find the shooter, when I thought I saw Barbara in the window. But she disappeared, and I couldn’t find her.
The women in the room converged around Ethan, shooting him repeatedly. But he just sat there and laughed. Meanwhile, Edward seemed to be acting like a puppet master, manipulating several people in the crowd, and occasionally laughing when one of his “puppets” fell down. I kept getting glimpses of women wearing different colored wigs, but all with dimples, and tilting their heads to the same side.
Suddenly, a tall woman appeared behind Edward, a long broadsword in her hand. Without a word, she rammed the sword into his back. He gasped, fell to his knees, and then face down on the floor. The strings he had been holding disappeared, and all the women around Ethan backed away, leaving him full of holes, but seemingly unscathed.
Disgusted, I leave, going down a long hallway. There are footsteps behind me, and I turn around to find Ethan, who’s grinning lecherously at me. My long gown gets tangled around my legs, and I stumbled backwards. Seeing his chance, he grabs me, shoving me against the wall. I starting beating against his chest with my fists, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned them over my head.
“Lizzie, wake up. It’s me, T.J. Wake up!”
I opened my eyes to see him bending over me, a worried look on his face. My legs were tangled up in the blanket, and he was gently holding my wrists in his hands. “Sorry,” I mumbled, pulling my arms back.
He unwrapped the blanket so I could swing my legs over the side of the bed. “It’s all right,” he assured me. “Jake mentioned that you had been having more vivid nightmares lately. What was this one about?”
“You don’t want to know. How long have I been asleep?”
“About an hour.”
“Any word from Jake yet?”
“Yeah, he just called. He said to tell you she’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?”
“No idea.”
“Is Garth still here?”
“Trixie brought the dogs over; she and Garth are in the backyard with them.”
I got up and stretched. “I ache all over.”
“Mind if I give you a hug?”
I smiled at him. “Sure,” I said, stepping into his arms, which he wrapped around me. Standing like this, I felt safe. There was no one trying to make my life miserable; it was just the two of us.
“While this is very nice, and while I’d like to stay this way for a while, I could also use some four-legged therapy, too.”
We went outside, where I was imnmediately attacked by Mittens, who jumped in my arms, wiggling, barking and licking my face. Babe was in her usual place under the tree, looking bored as usual. That’s about as warm of a greeting as I was going to get from her.
“Lizzie, it’s so good to see you!” Trixie said, coming over and giving me a hug.
“You make it sound like it’s been three months since you saw me, when it was just last night.”
“Your bruises look more colorful in sunlight than they do in the darkness.”
“Oh thanks, I feel so much better now,” I said, putting Mittens down. “I see you’ve met Garth.”
“Yes, I have, and I think I’m in love.”
“Have you told him you run a gentlemen’s club yet?”
“What did you expect me to do? Walk up and say ‘Hi, I’m Trixie Greene, and I run a gentlemen’s club for husbands who are tired of being nagged to death by their wives.’?”
“That’s what you usually do.”
“I’m trying a different approach.”
T.J. and Garth joined us. “Why don’t we run to the store and pick up some steaks or something to grill?”
“I can’t leave,” Garth said. “I’m under orders to stay here with Lizzie.”
“I’ll go with you, T.J.,” Trixie said. “Someone has to make sure you pick up the right stuff for dessert.”
“You do realize we just ate a couple of hours ago?” I pointed out to the guys.
“What’s your point?” T.J. replied. “By the time we go to the store, get the food, come back and cook, it will be time for supper.”
“All right, all right, just go,” I laughed.
After the two of them left, I went over and sat down next to Babe under the tree. “You look tired for someone who just had a nap,” Garth said as he sat down on the other side of Babe.
“I don’t get much sleep lately. More like cat naps.”
“Can you say that in front of your dog?”
“Does it look like she cares?”
We didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. “How’s Jake?” he said.
“He sounded fine. Did T.J. tell you that Jake said Kassandra Sherwood is gone?”
“Yeah, he told me.”
I thought about my dream. “Do you get the feeling that we’re just running around in circles?”
“Like the old magician’s trick: they get you to pay attention to the right hand so you can’t see what the left one’s doing.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of that before.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “It’s like setting up a decoy in one place, while you’ve got the original in a different place.”
“That I understand,” he nodded. “But what makes you think something devious is going on?”
“One: Barbara stalking Ethan. Two: Edward is being investigated by the Feds, who have a star witness in federal custody. Three: for some unknown reason, Kassandra Sherwood has disappeared; so has Barbara. Four: Edward hired someone to deliberately run Jake and I off the road.”
“Do you think Barbara and Kassandra are working together?”
“Both of them certainly have good reason to hate Ethan, but as far as they know, he’s dead.”
“Which would mean they would have no reason to keep doing whatever they’ve been doing.”
“What if Edward found out what they had been doing?” Garth said.
“Jake and I think it was Kassandra that told Edward about our conversation with Ruthdale Simpkins. It’s safe to assume that she’s working for him.”
“She could be working both sides.”
“That would be pretty gutsy. She knows what kind of person Edward is. She has to know what he will do to her if he finds out about her duplicity.”
“Well, that would certainly explain how Barbara knew where Ethan would be. Edward told Kassandra, who told Barbara.” Garth shook his head. “I see what you mean about running around in circles.”
“Welcome to my nightmares.”
Chapter 37
Thankfully, it was a quiet evening. The food and the company were a welcome break from the chaos. Since Trixie was unaware that Ethan was still alive, we avoided talking about the case. She left around ten. “How long is Garth going to be in town?” she asked me at the door.
“I have no clue.”
“If he doesn’t ask me out in the next couple of days, I might have to do the asking.”
“I believe he’s a widower. Want me to find out if he’s interested?”
“Isn’t that what best friends are supposed to do for each other?”
“Of course,” I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
T.J. left a few minutes after she did. “Garth says he’s going to be here all ni
ght, so I’m going to go home and get some sleep. I’m working the morning shift. But, if there’s anything you need, call me.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I locked the doors and turned on the alarm. Garth was in my office, looking at the corkboard. “She certainly went to a lot of trouble, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did,” I replied, sitting down.
“Taking revenge to a whole new level, don’t you think?”
“Yep.”
“Was there anything else on that flash drive?”
I handed him the rest of the papers. “That’s the rest of it,” I yawned.
“Why don’t you take a shower and go to bed?” he suggested. “I’ll go through the rest of these by myself.”
I got him a blanket and pillow out of the linen closet. “The couch is comfortable, but the recliner is better.”
He took the bedding from me. “Good to know.”
The hot shower helped me relax. I grabbed my tablet, crawled into bed, and started reading. The next thing I knew, Garth was gently shaking me. “Sorry to wake you up, but we’ve got a bit of a situation out here.”
I groaned. “I thought this was going to be a stress-free night. Go away.” I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head.”
“You’re really going to want to come into the living room,” Garth insisted.
“No, I’m not,” I said from under the covers. “I’m tired, I’m fed up, and I’ve had enough. Let someone else deal with whatever the problem is out there. Isn’t that what you’re here for?”
“I’m here to protect you.”
“Great. Then protect me from whatever is in the living room. Now get out!”
Garth started to say something else, but changed his mind and left. I was just starting to go back to sleep when someone else shook my arm. “Lizzie.”
“If this place isn’t on fire, you’d better get out of here.”
“Lizzie.” I grabbed a pillow and took a swing at whoever was standing by the bed. “That’s not really a dangerous weapon, you know?” T.J. laughed.
“What are you doing here at…” I checked the bedside clock, “…2 in the morning?”
“Well, we’ve got a bit of a situation…”
“Who’s ‘we’?”
“Hopkins.”
“You mean he’s here? Why?”
“It would really help if you would get up and come out into the living room.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” I growled, throwing back the covers and getting up. “Let me put something else on.” I stomped over to the dresser, pulled out a pair of lounging pants, and put them on.
“You look so cute, except for that unfortunate team t-shirt,” T.J. said.
“I can’t help it if you root for the wrong team,” I told him as I put on my slippers.
“One thing before we go out there,” he said, grabbing my hand. “I’m staying right here with you, all right?”
“It’s just Hopkins, for crying out loud. I might be leery of men, but I’m not afraid of Hopkins. Who in the world would be afraid of him?” I said as I walked toward the living room.
“Lizzie, wait…”
I turned the corner and stopped dead in my tracks. “What in the name of all that is holy is he doing IN MY HOUSE?!”
“How disappointing,” Ethan said. “I always imagined that you wore something a bit more…sexy to bed.”
Hopkins slapped him on the back of the head. “Shut up, Winthrop.”
“Why did you bring him to here?”
“Well, we had a small problem at the safe house,” Hopkins replied. “Someone broke in and tried to kill him.”
“And you stopped them? Why?”
“Lizzie!” T.J. said.
“What? You expect me to feel sorry for him? After everything he’s done to me?”
“As much as I agree with you,” Hopkins said, “we need to keep him alive until after he testifies. After that, I don’t give a flying…well, you know what I mean.”
“Where did you have him?”
“Jake’s house,” he said.
“Does he know that you were using his place?”
“Owen got permission from him.”
“So why bring him here?”
“Well, we couldn’t risk taking him to the station, in case whoever is trying to kill him has someone on the inside.”
“Are you saying you think Owen’s got a crooked cop?” T.J. said.
“I think we have to consider that possibility. I mean, who else knew we were keeping Ethan at Jake’s place?”
“Well, Jake, for starters,” T.J. replied. “I didn’t know until we got back from Virginia, so that leaves me out.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Hopkins said. “Once you knew he was still alive, you could have told anyone who wanted to get rid of him. In fact, you’d be number one on anyone’s list. Ethan tried to sexually assault your girlfriend twice, not to mention he has been harassing and terrorizing her for over a month. You, Jake and Owen all have good reasons to see him dead.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” T.J. said, shaking his head. “We worked together how many years? And you have the audacity to sit here and say this to me?”
“I’m merely pointing out what any other agent would say,” he replied. “The three of you certainly have strong motives. And don’t get me started on Lizzie herself.”
“Leave me out of this,” I warned him. “I didn’t know the jerk was still alive until we got back to town, nor did I know that you were keeping him here in town. If I had known, I’d have gotten back on Jake’s jet and flown back to Virginia. I don’t want to be in the same state with…with…” I gestured at Ethan, “…that.”
“As much as I hate to say this, but I have to agree with Agent Hopkins here,” Ethan said. “For the right price, anyone can be bought.” I glared at him. “Although there are rare exceptions.”
“Agent Hopkins, while I do understand your line of reasoning,” Garth said, “might I point out that the same could be said for you and your people?”
“Are you accusing one of my agents?” Hopkins said.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do remember overhearing you say that one of your men called in sick tonight, isn’t that true?”
“Well, I…”
“Who was it, Hopkins?” T.J. said.
“Crawford. He said he had a family emergency.”
“Who filled in for him?”
“A new guy, Brice Dillard. He just transferred here from Richmond.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” T.J. said.
“He’s been here about a week.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. “Oh man, this is unbelieveable. And I thought my life was screwed up,” I shook my head and sat down on the couch. “Hopkins, if you so strongly suspect that one of us tried to kill Ethan, then why is he sitting in my recliner? I’m going to have to fumigate it now.”
“I’d burn it,” T.J. said.
“Well, I…um…I need a favor.”
I looked at him. “What kind of favor?”
“Well, you see, it’s like this…” Hopkins stammered.
“Oh no, forget it,” I said, suddenly realizing what he wanted. “Absolutely not. Are you out of your liver-loving mind?!”
“Look, right now, I don’t have much of a choice. It’s the middle of the night, and I can’t make any other arrangements for him right now.”
“Throw him in a jail cell! That’s where he belongs anyway.”
“You can’t seriously want him to stay here, Hopkins,” T.J. said. “She’s traumatized enough. What are you trying to do to her?”
“You have a security system in place. The Englishman is staying here; you could stay as well,” Hopkins pointed out. “More than enough to protect him from whoever is out there, and you can protect her from him.”
“There is one more thing in our favor,” Garth said.
“What’s that?” I said.
“Hold on a minute, and I�
��ll show you.” He pulled out his phone and pushed a button. A minute later, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, a young woman came inside. “Is there a problem, Garth?
“No, everything’s okay,” he reassured her as he closed the door. “There’s some people I want you to meet. Everyone, this is one of my most valued employees, Olivia Dominguez. This is Agent Richard Hopkins, Deputy Sheriff T.J. Roosevelt, and Lizzie Crenshaw.”
“Pleasure to meet you all,” she said.
“Good to see you again, Livvie,” Ethan said, looking her over.
“I’ve asked you not to call me that, Mr. Winthrop.”
“But it suits you so well.”
In the blink of an eye, she had a knife at his throat. “And a Columbian necktie would suit you. But we don’t always get what we want, do we?”
“You must be the young lady Micha mentioned to us,” I said as she sheathed her knife. “She’s right; I do like you.”
“Olivia is a sharpshooter. Former Marine; highly trained. You’re lucky she didn’t shoot first and ask questions later when you showed up.”
“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” I asked T.J.
“Doesn’t look like it, sweetheart.”
“He sleeps on the couch, he doesn’t leave this room. If he has to go to the bathroom, someone stands outside the door. If he gets anywhere near me…”
“He won’t, I promise,” T.J. said.
“One night, Hopkins, that’s it. You make new arrangements for him first thing in the morning, is that clear?”
“I’ll make sure of it,” he said.
“Do you need anything else from me, Garth?” Olivia asked.
“Just be extra observant tonight. Someone’s already tried to kill him once tonight.”
“It’s a shame they missed,” she said as she left.
“Boy, your list of enemies just keeps growing, doesn’t it, Ethan?” I said.
“Must be my magnetic personality.”
“I’ve got to get back to the other house,” Hopkins said. “They’re trying to identify the shooter.”
“You mean you got him?” T.J. said.
“We got him, we just don’t know who he is.”
“I meant what I said, Hopkins. Get him out of here ASAP.”
“I’m sorry to put you through this.”
Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7) Page 28