Overkilt

by Kaitlyn Dunnett

  “You picked him up this morning.”

  “Of course I did. He is my husband.”

  “And?”

  Miranda sounded exasperated. “We came back here. I told him about the defections. He was not pleased.”

  That, Liss felt sure, was the understatement of the century.

  “I made him eat breakfast. Oatmeal is so strengthening. And then he took the truck and said he had things to attend to.”

  “Things?” Sherri asked.

  “He does not tell me what his plans are. Why should he? My place is to remain here and maintain the house.”

  “The house he’ll lose, along with the land, if he violates the conditions of his release.”

  For the briefest moment, Liss thought she saw anger flash in Miranda’s faded blue eyes. Hadley’s wife’s lips pursed in disapproval and a faint hint of color came into her cheeks before her usual stoic expression returned.

  “Do you know where the others have gone?” Liss asked.

  Sherri shot her a quelling glance but didn’t interrupt when Miranda answered.

  “Scattered to the winds. Just as well,” she added, “once George and Solomon made us all privy to their secret.”

  Sherri looked blank, but Liss understood. “They came out? Good for them.”

  “Came out, and left together. May they find peace and happiness.”

  “You . . . don’t condemn them?”

  “Why should I? We may have cut ourselves off from the world in many ways, but contrary to what some people seem to think, Mr. Spinner does not have the power to control other people’s feelings, least of all mine.”

  He probably believes he does, Liss thought, but she didn’t contradict Miranda.

  “Was everyone else as accepting?” Connie and Laurel and Anna had already left, but Liss suspected that Laurel already knew where her husband’s affections lay. Connie certainly had.

  “Benny was confused,” Miranda admitted, “but then he never really understood what a ‘prevert’ was in the first place.”

  Comprehension at last dawned on Sherri, quickly followed by concern for the two men. “Did you tell your husband about them? That he’d been deceived all these years?”

  Liss had been feeling pleased for George and Solomon. Like Miranda, she believed that two people in love deserved the chance to be together. Sherri’s questions hit her like a bucket of cold water. Hadley Spinner was not known for his tolerance . . . and he believed in taking revenge against those who challenged his authority.

  Miranda didn’t answer. Instead, she turned and walked away from them. “I trust you will excuse me. I have things to do, now that I am once again the sole mistress of this house.” She closed the ell door behind her with a final-sounding thump.

  Liss glanced at Sherri. “Are you going to send out a BOLO for Hadley Spinner?”

  “I think I’d better, don’t you, before he catches up with any of the runaways? I don’t have a reason to arrest him, but I want to keep an eye on him.” She got into the cruiser and reached for the radio. “Go home, Liss. I’ll handle this.”

  “I think I should head out to Ledge Lake and talk to my parents first. They need to know what’s going on.”

  “Fine. Just stay out of trouble.”

  Sherri spoke to the dispatcher at the sheriff’s department while Liss walked to her car. In the crisp, clear morning air, her every word carried clearly. Liss heard her friend slam the cruiser door and start the engine a moment before she turned the key in her own ignition. She sat for a moment, letting the heater warm the interior, and watched the other vehicle disappear around the curve of the driveway. She was about to follow Sherri when the passenger-side door abruptly opened and Miranda Spinner slid into the car.

  Liss eyed her warily. “What do you want, Miranda?”

  “I could hear what you said from inside the ell. If you’re going to your parents’ house, you need to take me with you.”

  “Why?”

  “I know Connie’s there. Where else could she be? She left with the two of you. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to stay in town. That leaves Mrs. MacCrimmon to give her shelter. I doubt your mother has changed much since I had her as a teacher. She always liked to manage things. It would be only natural for her to take Connie under her wing.”‘

  Miranda’s logic worried Liss. “Does Hadley know where Connie’s gone?”

  “I have no idea, but if I could figure it out, so could he.”

  Liss hit the gas.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As she drove toward Ledge Lake, Liss was beset by an ominous sense of déjà vu. An incident in her past had ended at another camp on the lake. She still shuddered at the memory of how scared she’d been and how helpless she’d felt. History couldn’t repeat itself . . . could it?

  She wished she had someone in the car with her other than Miranda. Gordon would be ideal, or Sherri. Dan would be a steady presence beside her. Even Dolores would do in a pinch. As Liss well knew, the librarian had hidden resources. Her mother? Well, Vi was already at the cottage, and probably her father was, too. Would either of them have a clue how to react if Hadley Spinner showed up?

  Although it was both illegal and dangerous to use a cell phone while driving, Liss fished hers out of her pocket and hit Sherri’s number on speed dial. When nothing happened, she risked a glance at the screen and saw that she was in a dead zone. She cursed under her breath. That situation wasn’t likely to improve until she got to her destination. One of the wealthier summer residents had lobbied hard for a cell tower in the immediate vicinity.

  “You said your husband was driving the truck?” she asked her passenger.

  “He took it and left me stranded,” Miranda answered. “Typical.”

  Liss kept her eyes peeled for the vehicle. With luck, it would take Spinner a while to find the camp. Vi and Mac were newcomers to the area and they hadn’t been living there long. Then she remembered that large, brightly painted sign her mother was so proud of. If Spinner got as far as the camp road, he wouldn’t be able to miss seeing it.

  “Would he go looking for Connie?” she asked. “He can’t think any of his former followers will come back to Pilgrim Farm now.”

  At first she thought Miranda wasn’t going to answer her, but after a lengthy silence, she said, “It’s that stupid knife. She saw him put it back after the demonstration. He doesn’t want her to tell the police about it. It doesn’t mean a thing, of course, but he’s obsessed with it.”

  “Did any of the other Pilgrims bother to talk to the police before they left town?”

  “They voted against it. Most of them just wanted to get away before Mr. Spinner returned.”

  That must mean that Hadley thought Connie was the only one who could link him to Jasper’s murder. Liss was sure he’d killed his cousin and she was very much afraid that he was now intent upon killing Connie to cover up that crime.

  A glance at Miranda’s stiff posture and tightly pursed lips persuaded Liss that Miranda was worried about the same thing. She pressed down harder on the gas pedal, despite the fact that she was already speeding.

  “Does he have a weapon with him?”

  “I doubt it. He’s convinced he can compel obedience with his words alone.”

  Liss had reached the camp road. She slowed only minimally to make the turn and sped up again with a squeal of tires. She drove twice as fast as she normally would and keeping her eyes on the pothole-filled surface ahead meant that she couldn’t see Miranda’s reaction when she asked, “Did he kill your sister, too, to keep her from leaving?”

  “Don’t be absurd.”

  “Your husband killed his cousin and tried to put the blame on my aunt. He’s hunting Connie. I don’t find the idea absurd at all.”

  “I kept an eye on him,” Miranda murmured. “I did my best.”

  Liss risked a glance at her passenger. “What are you talking about?”

  They were almost at the cottage. Liss hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any othe
r vehicle, let alone a truck. She should have been relieved, but Miranda’s words fueled her anxiety.

  “You kept an eye on him,” she repeated. “Good grief! Were you the one in the town square on the day of the demonstration?”

  Miranda wasn’t a blonde, but with hair that was fading to gray, she might well use blond bobby pins to keep the strands in place.

  “Did you know he took one of your knives with him that day? Were you worried about what he planned to do?”

  Only silence answered her.

  “Did you see him sneak into my aunt’s apartment?”

  Again, silence.

  Liss pulled into her parents’ parking area. Spinner’s truck wasn’t there. Neither was her father’s car. In the best-case scenario, her parents and Connie had gone out and wouldn’t be back for hours.

  She scrambled out of the driver’s seat, casting wary glances in every direction as she took the path that led to the house. Hadley Spinner could have parked at another of the camps around the lake and walked back. She didn’t dare assume she and Miranda had beaten him to his destination.

  With the other woman following close behind her, Liss reached the porch, grateful that Vi had given her a spare key for emergencies and that she’d put that key on the same ring with her house and car keys. She unlocked the door and went inside with Miranda right on her heels. Liss was just pulling out her cell phone when the faint sound of Vi’s voice reached her from the direction of the master bedroom on the first floor. She couldn’t make out her mother’s words, but when Connie spoke, every syllable rang out with crystal clarity.

  “The landline isn’t working,” she announced. “He must have cut the cord.”

  Liss felt all the warmth drain from her body. The sensation left her light-headed. Hadley Spinner had gotten to Ledge Lake first. She glanced at Miranda. Friend or foe? The expression on the older woman’s face indicated that she was listening intently, but what she intended to do next was anybody’s guess.

  Liss rarely texted, but she didn’t dare take the risk that Spinner would hear her voice. She typed quickly and clumsily, sending word of their situation to Sherri, but she had no guarantee that her friend would read the message in time to send help.

  Almost in lockstep, she and Miranda crept up to the door of the bedroom. Liss stopped short and stared. Hadley Spinner was there all right, but he wasn’t threatening Connie and Vi. It was Vi who held him at bay. Her little pink gun was aimed right at his heart.

  * * *

  The next little while was filled with purposeful activity. While her mother herded Spinner into the living room, Liss pulled out her cell phone again and this time talked to Sherri. Assured that the police were on the way, she turned her attention to Miranda.

  Hadley’s wife was watching her husband the way a mouse keeps an eye on a snake.

  “I’d feel safer if we tied him up,” Connie said.

  Hadley Spinner’s smile encompassed all four women. Liss found the sight disconcerting. He seemed to think he still possessed the charisma of his younger days.

  “Mistress Spinner, be so good as to tell these poor misguided creatures that I mean them no harm. Their fragile feminine brains seem incapable of grasping my intent.”

  “Your intent was crystal clear,” Vi interrupted. “You broke in. You threatened Connie with a knife.” She turned to Liss. “If you go look in the bedroom, you’ll find it on the floor. I made him drop it. I’d have shot him without a qualm if he hadn’t.”

  “Let’s leave it for the police to find. It’s evidence.”

  The more charges against Spinner the better, Liss thought grimly. He’d already violated the conditions of his release, but no matter how certain she was of his guilt, it was all too possible that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him of murder.

  Abruptly, Spinner sat down, nearly missing the chair he’d aimed for. Liss exchanged a worried glance with her mother. Was this some kind of trick?

  On closer inspection, the Pilgrim leader didn’t look well. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead and his face looked ruddier than it had been a moment earlier. He bared his teeth and uttered a low, threatening sound that was cut short by a spasm of pain.

  “Give me that gun,” he said in a harsh whisper. “I will not be threatened by a mere woman.”

  Without warning, he surged to his feet, lunging at Vi. She backpedaled, but there was a hassock in her way. Before Liss could call out a warning, she slammed into it at knee level. As she lost her balance, the gun flew out of her hands.

  Liss dove for it.

  Spinner got there first. A gleam of triumph in his eyes, he turned it on her. “Over there,” he ordered, gesturing for her to join Connie in front of the sliding glass doors.

  “Don’t worry,” Vi called out as she struggled to her feet. “It isn’t loaded.”

  Liss sent her mother an incredulous look.

  “Why would I keep a loaded gun in the house, let alone carry one around with me? It’s not safe.” She sounded short of breath, but otherwise seemed unhurt, and the look she sent Hadley Spinner was fearless.

  With a sound of disgust, he tossed the gun aside. “Mistress Spinner, fetch me the knife.”

  “Mr. Spinner,” Miranda answered, “I have spoken to you before about removing items from my kitchen.”

  His eyes widened. “You dare to disobey me?” His astonishment was so great that he seemed to forget there were others in the room. He turned away from them to focus on his wife.

  “Quickly,” Liss whispered to her mother and Connie. “Into the bedroom.” If they locked the door, they’d be safe until the police arrived.

  Connie moved in the opposite direction, grabbing hold of a lamp that sat on one of Vi’s end tables as she went.

  “You really have lost your mind this time, Hadley,” Miranda said.

  While he was distracted, Connie swung the lamp. It connected with Spinner’s head with a sickening crack. Dazed and bleeding, he sank slowly to the floor, landing facedown on the carpet.

  “Here, use this.” Vi unhooked the cord from her phone charger and handed it to Liss. “Tie him up.”

  She knelt beside the fallen man, but before she could wrench his hands behind his back, Spinner rolled over and began to retch. Liss hastily stood up again and stepped out of the way, fighting a gag reflex of her own.

  “Don’t worry,” Miranda said in a preternaturally calm tone of voice. “He won’t hurt you. He won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

  “The oatmeal,” Spinner croaked.

  “Yes, dear. The oatmeal. Ghastly stuff. I will never eat another bowl of it as long as I live . . . and neither will you.”

  Liss stared at Miranda Spinner in slowly dawning horror. She looked so harmless in her floor-length lavender dress, her hands primly folded at waist level. Light pouring in through the sliding glass door to the deck glinted on her granny glasses, hiding whatever emotion her eyes might have revealed, but the faint smile curving her lips upward spoke of satisfaction in a job well done.

  * * *

  With Hadley in the hospital and Miranda in jail, both of them facing felony charges, Liss concentrated on running her business. The nine days leading up to Thanksgiving were busy ones as Christmas shopping began in earnest. She worked long hours at the Emporium and saw little of anyone but Dan in her free time. The day Connie moved out of the cottage at Ledge Lake, Liss’s father left a message on her answering machine to say that he and her mother would be away for a few days. She assumed they were taking a mini-vacation, although she doubted that Vi needed one to recover from her ordeal. She’d appeared to enjoy every minute of it.

  During those nine days, Liss saw almost nothing of Margaret and only talked to Sherri in fits and starts. Although Gordon, following his usual practice, kept mum about the case, Sherri was able to fill in a few details. Not surprisingly, she reported that both Hadley and Miranda would have to undergo psychological testing before either case went to trial.

  On the day before Than
ksgiving, Vi phoned the Emporium to announce that they were home again. She took it for granted that she and Mac would celebrate the holiday at Liss’s house and wouldn’t hear of it when Liss suggested that they join Joe and his family at the hotel. Thanks to the “Thanksgiving Special” every room was booked, but the Ruskins could still gather there for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

  “Joe and the others have had your company for the last ten years,” Vi said. “It’s our turn. Now don’t you worry about food. I’ll cook the turkey here and bake rolls and we’ll bring them with us. The gravy, too, and Margaret has already agreed to do the desserts. That leaves you with the side dishes. Mashed potatoes, corn, peas, and some of that instant stuffing. It isn’t healthy to make it inside the bird anyway.”

  Liss gave in.

  By the time her parents, her aunt, and the two Scotties arrived the next day, she’d set the dining room table with a tartan tablecloth and had all the prep work done for the side dishes. The cats appeared out of nowhere at the first whiff of roast turkey. Lumpkin wound himself through Mac’s legs, trying to trip him as he carried in the box containing a heavy enamel pan surrounded by towels to keep it hot.

  The kitchen was already redolent with festive aromas—baked apples, cinnamon, and chocolate—but it was the yeasty smell of the fresh-from-the-oven rolls that Vi brought with her that made Liss’s mouth water. It didn’t take long to get everything ready to serve. Once Dan had mashed the potatoes, everyone pitched in to carry the platters and serving dishes to the table.

  “That’s too heavy, Vi,” her father said, grabbing the bowl with the stuffing away from his wife.

  Momentarily alone in the kitchen with her mother, Liss sent her a questioning look. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “If you must know, we weren’t on vacation last week. I went to Portland to have a pacemaker put in. The surgery was scheduled ages ago.”

  “And you didn’t think you should tell me about it beforehand?”

  “Why worry you? It’s not as if I had open heart surgery. The procedure went well and now I won’t have any more of those dizzy spells.” She sent Liss a bright smile and breezed out of the kitchen.