by Leona Fox
“Well, that’s a relief,” Betty said. “I was thinking I was going to have to knit you a file so you could get out of prison.”
“I was going with a saw baked in a cake, myself,” Lucy said. “I like to go with tradition.”
“Good to know you both were considering breaking the law for me,” Sadie said. “But how are we going to find Jane?”
“I think we’re going to have to ask Ida,” Lucy said. “And I doubt she’ll be any more forthcoming.”
“You know,” Sadie said, “we could ask to see a copy of the contract for the storage space. I have Curtis’ signature on file in his employment documents. We can compare the signatures.”
“But how do we get them to show us a copy of the contract?” Lucy asked. “We don’t have a legal foot the stand on.”
“Leave that to me,” Betty said. “I know the manager.”
In less than fifteen minutes a copy of Curtis’ storage unit contract was spit out by the fax machine. Sadie rummaged in her file cabinet for a copy of Curtis’ paperwork. The women bent over the two pieces of paper.
“The signatures are nothing alike,” Lucy said. “Do you think we should show them to Oxford?”
“We should,” Sadie said, “but I’m reluctant to do so. Maybe I should give them to Zack, and let him show Oxford?”
“But isn’t he supposed to stay away from this case?” Betty asked.
“I think now that I’m exonerated the rules may have loosened up,” Sadie said. “At least, I hope so. He really needs Zack on this case.”
“Wait a sec,” Lucy said. “Let me see that card with Ida’s name and phone number on it.” Sadie handed it over. And Lucy compared it to the contract.
“Oh, my God,” Lucy said. “The phone number on the contract – it’s Ida’s. She used her own phone number.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Sadie said. “Remember, whoever is doing this is a master at deflection. She could be one of the people being framed.”
“Or she could be the one doing the framing. This would be her second mistake.” Lucy traced the matching letters on the contract. “Her first being David Schmitz.”
“Actually, her third mistake. Her first was the very first day I met her, when she said she didn’t know who Curtis was. She’d never met him, and then a day later she was telling me she knew he sold cheat sheets. So the phone number, David and the lie about knowing Curtis. I wonder if it’s enough to get Oxford to investigate her?” Sadie asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Betty said. “Let’s call him up.”
To Oxford’s credit, he came right over. He listened to what they had to say about Ida, looked at the phone number on the contract, and sat down in Sadie’s office chair.
“So what you are saying,” he mused, “is this girl killed Eliza, got a storage unit in Curtis’ name, hid the body, hid the girl’s stuff, and then murdered Curtis and planted him in your shop?”
“Actually,” Sadie said, “what I think happened is this: somehow Eliza got on Ida’s bad side. Maybe Ida liked Curtis but Curtis liked Eliza, I don’t know. But I do think she had the whole thing planned out from the beginning. I think she planned it down to the last detail, and then she set it in motion.”
“Are you sure?” Oxford asked.
“No, I’m not sure,” Sadie said.
“But think about it. Before any of this happened she was a normal college student and now she has become an isolated nutjob who won’t look anybody in the eyes. Her housemother said she changed drastically. And I noticed that when she did catch my eye, she looked crazy as a loon. I think she went a little off her rocker and started planning murders. And stopped looking directly at people because she was afraid they could tell.”
“I’m not sure if I go along with that,” Oxford said. “But I think there’s enough here to get a search warrant for Ida’s room. And, because I feel I owe you one, you and Zack can watch. If you stay out of the way.”
Sadie pumped the air with her fist behind his back and then said, “I think we would like that,” in a perfectly normal voice.
Sadie wrangled spots for Betty and Lucy as well. They stood with her and Zack in the hall outside Ida’s room. Mr. Bradshaw had been left at home in his comfortable bed for a change. The house mother stood next to them, wringing her hands, as a team of police officers invaded Ida’s space. Ida wasn’t home. The house mother said something vague about her being in class, which was fine with Sadie. Ida gave her the willies.
It took about five minutes before Officer Wilson came out with a Louisville slugger. It had hair on it as well as blood splatter, Sadie thought. But when she realized what it was she turned her head away, she didn’t want to see the weapon that killed Curtis.
The next thing they found was a picture of Curtis and Eliza. They were walking hand-in-hand and clearly did not know their picture was being taken. Ida had drawn a big red X over each of their faces.
“I’ve seen enough,” Sadie said, and she went downstairs to sit in the living room. A moment later Betty and Lucy joined her.
“They found a diary,” Betty said. “That girl is seriously unhinged.”
At that moment, Ida walked in the front door. She saw the women in the living room and her eyes immediately focused on the floor in front of her feet.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“We came to see your house mother,” Sadie lied. “But she’s busy upstairs. Why don’t you sit with us for a while? Keep us company while we’re waiting.”
“I guess,” Ida said, looking at the stairway with longing.
Sadie thought she wouldn’t be looking that way if she knew what was going on up there. Betty patted the couch next to her. “Come sit.”
Ida started reluctantly into the living room.
“Lucy,” Sadie said, “why don’t you go up and check on our house mother?” Sadie raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes to convey her meaning.
“Of course,” Lucy said, and stood up.
At that moment, a police officer appeared at the top of the staircase escorting a sobbing house mother. Ida took one look and bolted.
The officer shouted down the hall and ran down the stairs in pursuit. A moment later Zack and Wilson came running after him. The three officers bolted through the front door and the three women followed. Ida was fleeing down the hill, running across the neighborhood lawns. There was a small fence on the corner and she vaulted it without the smallest break in her stride.
“Wow,” Sadie said. “I’d be jealous if I didn’t know she was a homicidal maniac. Look at that form.”
“She is rather graceful, isn’t she?” Lucy said. “I was awkward at her age.”
“I wouldn’t have dreamed of trying to vault over a fence like that,” Betty said, “for fear of ending up in the hospital. They’re getting away. We better follow them in the car.”
The three ran for Sadie’s car, and they were barely in and buckled before she had it turned around and headed down the hill. They were just in time to see Zack make a flying tackle and take Ida out on the lawn of the fraternity house where the two Davids lived.
Smithy was sitting on the front steps with Barney the St. Bernard. His mouth dropped open and he stared for a moment, then he said, “Jane, why are the police after you? I thought the college dealt with all cheating offenses?”
Luckily, the car windows were down so Sadie didn’t miss the fact that Ida was also Jane. Not that she had any doubts by this time.
Zack pulled Ida up off the grass and handcuffed her. “You have the right to remain silent,” he said.
“Silent? You want me to remain silent?” Ida was practically screaming.
“That’s all anybody ever wants, isn’t it? For Ida to be quiet? Well, I’m not quiet. I fooled you all and I’m going to tell everyone who will listen.”
She still was carrying on at the top of her lungs when Zack placed her in the back of the squad car Wilson had retrieved from the top of the hill.
“Crazy as a loon,” Lucy said. “Shall we go home?”
A couple of days later Sadie’s shop was back to normal. Her inventory had been returned, and she and Betty spent an afternoon replacing the items on the shelves. Both of the sorority keys had been delivered to her by mistake. She placed hers back in its box on her dresser and called Zack to come get Eliza’s.
“Will you come with me to take it back to her parents?” he asked. “You are her sorority sister, after all.”
“I’ll come,” she said, “if you’ll take me to the garden center afterward. I want to buy a tree for the college to plant in Curtis’ name.”
“Why a tree?” Zack asked.
“Anyone can donate a bench,” Sadie said. “Curtis liked trees.”
“That’s a nice idea,” Zack said. “And I’ll do one better, I’ll take you to lunch, too.”
Zack called ahead so Eliza’s parents were waiting for them when they arrived. Sadie was wearing her sorority key for a feeling of solidarity with the dead girl.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she handed Eliza’s chain to her mother. “If there’s ever anything I can do...”
“Thank you,” the mother choked out, “we appreciate your kindness. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
They accepted, knowing Eliza’s parents would need to talk about her. So they sipped their coffee and listened while her parents talked about how special Eliza had been growing up. How bright her future had been. How she had fallen in love with Curtis and had hopes for the future. Sadie had a lump in her throat as they said goodbye, and she wiped away tears as she got into Zack’s jeep.
“It’s so sad,” she said. “They lost their child just as she was becoming an adult.”
“Yes,” Zack said. “And there can be no closure. Ida never will stand trial. She’s completely unhinged.”
“I know,” Sadie said. “It’s sad for her parents.”
At the garden center, Sadie ordered two crab apples to be planted next to each other at the college, one for Curtis and the other for Eliza.
“They will be so beautiful in the spring,” Sadie told Zack as they left the nursery.
“They have the most beautiful deep pink flowers.”
“What did you have put on the brass plates?” Zack asked.
“Curtis’ says ‘In memory of Curtis Beaudry,’ and the dates he was born and died. It’s the same on Eliza’s. I wanted to say something personal, but I couldn’t think of the right words. They all seemed so inane. How can you sum up a person in two or three words?”
“I don’t know. But if the right words come to you, have them changed. It’s not like they are set in stone,” he said.
“Even if they were set in stone,” Sadie said, “I could have the stones replaced.” She smiled.
“If I think of something better I will change them out. And I won’t rush it. It can wait until the right words come.”
Zack smiled and put his arm around her. “How about lunch on the top of the cliff? The Cliff House is open.”
“I’d like that,” she said, brushing the dampness from her eyes again. “And I promise not to cry.”
“I don’t mind if you cry,” he said.
“The fact you are so open with your feelings is one of the things I admire about you, Sadie Barnett.” And when he stopped at a red light he leaned over and kissed her.
They had lunch at a table near the window, watching the sun reflect off the waves below. It was so bright it almost hurt her eyes and Sadie was thankful for the dark window film that reduced the glare.
“I have to go see Curtis’ parents,” Sadie said when she’d finished her meal. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep from crying.”
“They said the same about you,” Zack said.
“I recommended they wait a few weeks. In fact, why don’t you invite them for a meal in six or eight weeks? The pain will have faded a little and you can talk about what made Curtis such a special kid. And you can tell them about your trees. They’ll like that.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said, “I’ll do that.”
“Good,” he said and held out his hand. “Now come for a walk with me along the cliff and I’ll show you where I’d like us to be married.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “Okay.”
They walked hand in hand along the path that followed the edge of the cliff. The wind lifted Sadie’s hair and made her feel like she was flying. They came to an area of bare rock surrounded by benches. Zack drew her toward the edge and wrapped his arms around her.
“We could stand right here,” he said, “with our friends around us and say our vows.”
She looked up at him, tears of joy mingled with those of sadness, and smiled. She was about to say it was a fine place to get married, but he leaned down and kissed her. She forgot all about why they were standing on the cliff, held on, and kissed him back with everything she had.
Later, on the way home, Zack turned to her. “So what do you think, is that a good place to get married?” Sadie laughed.
“What’s funny?” he asked.
“I was about to tell you it was a fine place to get married, but you kissed me and I forgot all about it. But you know, I’d get married to you in your office, or at the sewage plant, in the park or city hall; where ever you want.”
“Let’s make it the cliff then,” Zack said, taking her hand. “Somehow the sewage plant doesn’t seem like it has the right ambiance.”
“Oh well, I had my heart set on the sewage plant. But anything for you, Chief, you know that.”
“You still aren’t going to call me Chief when we’re married, are you?”
“Of course, I am.” She smiled a wicked smile.
“But only when I’m trying to annoy you,” she said and kissed his hand.
“I am in so much trouble,” Zack sighed.
“Yes, Chief, you are,” she said, laughing for the first time in days.
~~~
Find out what Sadie discovers in book 8 of The Seagrove Mysteries! Coming Soon!
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