Designed to Death

by Christina Freeburn

  I lunged backwards, planting my hands behind my back, setting myself to give Leonard a proper pounding to his head with my feet. I wouldn’t be able to knock him out cold with a punch, but a well-placed kick would accomplish it.

  Darlene lurched forward and snatched the roll of tape in my hand. “Do you know how hard the Hello Kitty tape is to find?”

  It had to be a joke. I gaped at Darlene. For the love of scrapbooking, she wasn’t joking. She lovingly and protectively clutched the pink tape decorated with red hearts and a white cat face to her bosom.

  “I need another one. One roll isn’t going to hold him.” I stretched out my arm.

  Hazel threw one toward me. It fell short, bonking Leonard on the head and then cavorted to the other side of the room with twists and turns across the spectacular bamboo floor.

  Another roll whizzed past my head.

  “Give me those.” Eliza rushed over and grabbed the whole drawer from Hazel. She dumped it over Leonard. A plethora of washi tapes rained down upon Leonard and me. I snagged hold of a black and white plaid I knew we carried at the store.

  I peeled back a tiny corner then whipped the whole row of tape around the man’s wrists. I grabbed another roll. The tape had never been tested as a method of tying someone up. Or at least not that I knew about.

  Eliza joined in the wrapping. She tore a new roll out of cellophane and got to work on the man’s ankles.

  “I want to help, too.” Hazel glanced over the offerings and chose a beige roll with inspirational sayings written on it.

  “Not that one.” Darlene tore it from her aunt’s hands. “I paid ten dollars for it.”

  She got ripped off.

  I picked the closest roll and wrapped it speedily around Leonard’s wrist. I had quite a collection decorating his wrists.

  “How about this one?” Hazel held out another roll.

  Darlene shook her head. “I know what project I want to use it for.”

  Hazel plucked out another. “This?”

  “Nope.”

  “Grab one and tape.” I shoved a roll at Hazel. “We need him bound before he regains consciousness.”

  Darlene drew in a displeased breath.

  “I’ll buy you some of the new sexy cowboy tape to replace it,” I said. “Just keep taping.”

  “Sexy cowboy?” Darlene’s eyes widened with interest.

  “It’s a new line. Sexy Santa. Sexy cowboy. Sexy fireman,” I recited the ones I remembered as I continued to tape. “If there’s a profession or a hobby they could make a man look sexy doing, they have a tape for it.”

  “Use them all.” Darlene dumped an armload of tape into Hazel and her mother’s lap. With a wide grin, Darlene set to work mummifying Leonard.

  By the time we were done, every inch of Leonard was covered in some style of decorative tape.

  Sweetheart woofed his approval. A large bead of drool dripped onto Leonard’s face.

  “Someone should call the police.” I shoved a wad of hair from my face. I grimaced as I touched the knot on the side of my forehead.

  “Oliver went to get him,” Eliza said. “We were at our knitting group when he got Darlene’s message. We came right over and he went for the police.”

  Went for? Wouldn’t calling them have worked better? I think Oliver needed to read a few more mysteries. “Hopefully they get here soon. We might not have enough to hold this killer.”

  “The four of us can take him.” Darlene cracked her knuckles. “I hope the detective is a little late. I have a lesson for Leonard.”

  “He’s here,” Ted’s voice echoed through the house.

  A rumble echoed from Sweetheart. Darlene snagged the Great Dane’s collar. “He’s good.”

  Sweetheart lowered himself into a sitting position, keeping his dark soulful eyes on Ted.

  “What took you so long?” Darlene stood, dusting off her pants. “I thought you were a runner.”

  “I had to lock Oliver in my bathroom first. He wanted to come over and help me defend you ladies,” Ted said. “I thought it was best he stay put. I didn’t need another person who doesn’t like listening to police. He should’ve called 911 instead of wanting to keep his line open in case you texted again.”

  Darlene tsked. “That’s what I forgot to tell Leonard. Detective Roget lives down the block. Good thinking on using my phone to get backup.”

  Oliver filled her number one spot? No wonder she got worked up about the necklace. That was a huge step in a relationship.

  Ted knelt beside me on one knee. “You okay?”

  I nodded.

  His finger drifted under the lump on my forehead. He pressed his lips together. I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to say but wouldn’t in front of an audience. He handed me his cell phone. “Call the station. Tell them I need some officers and an ambulance.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Maybe this has knocked some sense into you.” Ted cuffed Leonard. “Mrs. Watson, you can’t kick the prisoner again.”

  “I’m clumsy,” Hazel said, firing off another kick. “Sorry.”

  “Me too. Clumsiness runs in the family.” Eliza reared her foot back and booted the killer in the butt.

  “Ladies...” Ted used his warning tone on them.

  I placed the call. “There’s a guy trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey at Darlene Johnson’s house.”

  “Not again,” Bobbi-Annie moaned. “You tell Darlene, Oliver’s aunt said the next time things got like that between her and her nephew she’d make her marry the boy.”

  Gaping at Darlene, I muttered something about sending the police and an ambulance. Bobbi-Annie’s response of ‘Darlene’s mother can explain it this time’ barely registered in my head.

  Darlene carefully deposited the few remaining tape rolls back into the drawer marked Fun Times. “I told you they’d work for restraining a guy.”

  Shivering, I wrapped my grandfather’s afghan around me and curled into the chair. So much hatred combined with so much love. What drove people to that place? I not only thought about Belinda and Leonard, but Adam and me. In a way, our relationship had been the same; one person in each couple was being used. In my case the user was obvious—Adam. With Belinda and Leonard it was a toss-up.

  I guess in a way Belinda got what she aimed to give. The thought unsettled me. It wasn’t right to have those feelings about someone, especially the deceased. Guilt wormed through me. I needed comfort. I needed chocolate. I also didn’t want to move.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to insist to Steve I needed to be alone. Having company who liked waiting and doing favors for you was lovely when you were soul tired.

  A loud thud sounded from outside my kitchen door.

  I shot up in the chair. The blanket slipped from my shoulders. A loud yowl shattered the quiet outside. I knew that sound. Someone stepped on the tabby tomcat stray I named Ol’ Yowler’s tail. Ol’ Yowler had taken up residence on my back porch.

  I lurched to my feet and ran for my cell phone I left in my purse. I needed to start wearing it around my neck.

  “Don’t call the police, Faith.” Ted’s muffled voice came from my deck.

  “Give me one good reason.” I wasn’t in the mood for any unexpected, unwanted company. Especially anyone who thought I was a senseless, aggravating woman who didn’t display the good sense God granted a toddler.

  “I am the police.”

  Okay, it was a good one. Still, I wasn’t quite ready to let him off the hook.

  “If I wanted to be read the riot act again, I’d invite my grandmothers over. At least that way I’d get some cookies along with the lecture.”

  “You’re going to get your wish,” Ted grumbled. “Hello Mrs. Greyfield and Mrs. Hunter.”

  This I wanted to hear and see. Gleefully, I tugged the door open and eased out on the porch.

  Grandma Cheryl stood on the outskirts of the beginning of my yard, a shotgun aimed at Ted. “Hope is calling the chief. You better have a good explan
ation for lurking around my granddaughter’s backyard.”

  He had his hands reaching for the stars. “Patrolling.”

  I decided to sit on the nice comfortable lounge chair in the corner. I wished I had some popcorn. Once I got comfortable, Ol’ Yowler jumped up beside me.

  Cheryl snorted. “Without a flashlight?”

  “I could use some help,” Ted said.

  “I’m too senseless to figure that out.” I scratched Ol’ Yowler behind the ears. He purred, adding a nice soundtrack to the evening’s entertainment.

  “You know what I meant,” Ted said.

  “Precisely. I don’t know enough to keep out of things I ought to. So, I’m showing you I do.” I stuck out my tongue, knowing my grandmother couldn’t see me. “Happy now?”

  “I was referring to playing private detective. You and Darlene were lucky Leonard was possibly the world’s dumbest criminal. One of you could’ve been killed and I don’t see Darlene being the self-sacrificing type.”

  “I have to agree with him, Faith.” Cheryl lowered the gun. “Just what in the world were you thinking getting into the car with that man? Hope and I taught you to never get into the car of a stranger.”

  “We kind of didn’t have much a choice, the whole at gunpoint thing.” I forced lightness and snark into my voice even as a shudder ripped through me.

  “I’m bringing back-up!” Hope shouted. “He’s hot and bothered and itching for a fight.”

  “Do I want to know?” Ted threw a look at me, a cross between bewildered and terrified.

  “I’d say she’s bringing her handgun or else she told Mr. Murphy that Grandma Cheryl was in danger and he’s coming over to use his karate moves on you.”

  Ted moaned. “Not Clive.”

  So, Detective Roget had a few run-ins already with Clive Murphy.

  Seventy-five year old Mr. Murphy was our neighborhood’s self-appointed Citizen Watch group leader and one of the two members of the team. Mrs. Barlow was the other. Much to Mrs. Barlow’s irk, Clive had a thing for Cheryl.

  The word “charge” echoed from down the block.

  Cheryl ran for the safety of her home. While my grandmother loved shoving Steve at me, insisting I needed a man, she wanted nothing to do with one. I wished she’d find someone, but Clive didn’t inspire me to do any matchmaking. He was nice. Cute in the old, grandfather kind of way, but the man came with four ex-wives and twelve children who were already fighting over who’d get his belongings once he died.

  Grandma Cheryl wasn’t into drama which is why my insistence on jumping into it to help friends, and especially frenemies, confused her.

  “Can I come in?” Ted reached down for a heavy case placed on the ground near the deck.

  “Planning on fingerprinting the place or setting up a wiretap?”

  “Now there’s an idea.” Ted smiled at me. “I came to return some items to you.”

  “By jumping over my fence.” I made myself more comfortable on the lounger.

  “I was hoping to avoid your grandmothers, and Mrs. Barlow’s binoculars.”

  “Epic fail on your part. Maybe God should’ve given you more sense.”

  “You sure don’t like letting anything go.” Ted hissed out a frustrated breath. “I was worried. Scared to death for you and I let my emotions get the best of me. Give a guy who cares about you...and is returning your secrets...a break.”

  “Forgiven.” I jumped to my feet. Ol’ Yowler mewed pathetically. I scooped him up. “Tonight you can come inside. Just tonight.”

  “Fine. I wasn’t requesting to move in.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I was talking to the cat.”

  “Okay, but I think we’re moving kind of fast.” Ted lugged the metal box inside. “I’d be okay with dinner.”

  “Behave or I’m going to tell my grandmothers you’re being fresh.”

  “I found your Army information when we searched Leonard’s car.” Ted placed the lock box on top of my table. “I made the call these documents aren’t necessary to try the case. Consider the secure storage a gift.”

  “Thank you.” I ran my hand over the cold metal. “Who else knows?”

  “The Chief, Jasper, Prosecutor Harlow.”

  I nodded, clenching the fabric of my sweatshirt. I felt sick.

  Ted stood behind me and kneaded my shoulders. “All they know is these were family pictures stolen from your house. They were important to you and I didn’t feel it was necessary to solve the crime. Everyone agreed. We have enough real evidence for cataloging, no sense adding in hundreds of photographs.”

  I spun around and hugged him. Tight.

  “Stop torturing yourself.” Ted whispered into my hair.

  “I’m not.” I put some distance between my ear and his chest.

  He tipped my chin up, making me look into his concerned green eyes. “You fell in love with a man who wasn’t worth your heart. Don’t let him still have it.”

  “He doesn’t.” I tried stepping away from Ted, but his gentle touch on my waist kept me nearby. “I want nothing to do with him. Ever.”

  Ted tucked a lock of hair behind my ear then trailed his fingers up and down my cheek. “As long as you’re too scared and feel too unworthy to allow someone else to love you, he still has it. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  The intensity in Ted’s eyes and anger in his voice sent a curl of heat through me. This time, I did leave the zone Ted and I created together. I needed space. Boundaries. I needed to think.

  “I’ll go.” Ted rapped his knuckles on the box. “While I’d like it to be me you’re willing to let go of the past for, I’d be okay if it was Davis. He’s a good guy. The bad guys shouldn’t win over the good guys.”

  “They won’t,” I whispered.

  “Then I’ll be waiting to see which good guy gets a real chance.”

  All I managed was a nod.

  Ted strode over to the front door. He twisted the knob. “If you’re ever in the mood to roast something, I have a fireplace.”

  I shut the door and Ted’s words swirled around me. I leaned against it, my gaze traveling to the metal box lurking in the background.

  Ted was right. Not about needing to roast something but the fact Adam still controlled my life. As long as I continued, in a way, living from that moment I’d never totally be over him. He lurked in all the decisions I made...and didn’t make. It was time to do some ghost-busting and get rid of the one I carried around with me.

  There was only one way to banish the last remnants of Adam from my life. Declare my new one.

  I took in a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and marched out the door. I tromped through my grandmothers’ front yard. The porch light blazed on, bathing me like I walked under an interrogation spotlight. Might as well get this decision out in the open.

  Grandma Cheryl raced out her front door. “Faith, what are you up to now?”

  “Formally claiming my man.”

  Cheryl beamed and inched her way back into her house. “I think I should just let you be.”

  I rapped my knuckles on Steve’s door. My heart beat against my chest harder than I knocked. Sweat popped up on my brow. My hands and knees shook. I hoped I could get to say the life changing words before I swooned, or worse puked on Steve.

  He answered the door. Fully clothed.

  Disappointment shot through me and chased away the nausea. Here went everything. I looked him in the eye. “Okay.”

  Steve’s eyebrows’ quirked up. “Okay?”

  Apparently, I wasn’t very good at this. I tried again. “You and me. I want to give us a try. A real try.”

  He crossed his arms. His kissable mouth set in a straight line. The sleeves of the t-shirt bunched up, revealing a smidge of his tattoo. “An actual relationship.”

  This wasn’t quite as easy as I’d imagined. I placed my hands on his toned arms and leaned closer, hoping he’d wrap them around me soon. “A commitment. I tell people we’re dating. You tell people we’re dating. My grandmothe
rs start buying wedding themed scrapbook supplies.”

  “Even without knowing...” His gaze drifted toward my hand resting near the sleeve of shirt and now covering the tattoo.

  “Knowing everything is overrated.” I fluttered my eyes and moistened my lips. I wasn’t quite ready to form them in the international signal of “kiss me” as a girl didn’t want to invite that bold of a rejection.

  “Are you sure?” His hands drifted to my waist.

  “Whatever it is isn’t going to break my heart?” My heart pounded.

  “No. A decision I made that was the first wedge between me and my father.” Pain crept into his eyes.

  I wrapped my arms around Steve. I knew that kind of pain and hated that he lived with it also. Maybe we were meant for each other?

  Maybe? I marched over to declare my intentions. There was no maybe about it. Ted flashed into my mind. I tightened my hold on Steve. No. I wanted Steve. I cared about Steve. I could count on Steve and knew he wouldn’t hurt me. He stood beside me. Behind me. Whatever I needed and whenever I needed it. He never argued against me, always for me.

  Steve untangled himself from my arms. His eyes locked on mine. “Faith...”

  “Kiss me.” A slow and sexy smile curved his lips. Steve obliged, happily and quite heartily with my request.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  A golden-yellow ray of sunshine dipped down from the sky and highlighted the church. Hazel stood by the front door and tipped her head up, a soft serene smile on her face. The perfect day she planned happened. Sadly, it wasn’t the wedding she envisioned for her beloved daughter but a funeral.

  I gulped down a lump knotting my throat.

  Steve and Ted headed up the stairs. They walked side-by-side and looked almost like twins in their dark suits and dress shoes. They had offered to act as pall bearers for Belinda’s funeral along with Gussie’s sons, Wyatt and Wayne. Neither Belinda nor her mom had many true friends in Eden. I knew everyone, yet didn’t know anyone.

  Almost like me.

  Moisture built in my eyes. I blinked the tears away and shut off my pity-party.

  This day wasn’t about me or my woes. My self-created heartache. There were two decent and honorable men in my life. A handful of friends who stood beside me even when I annoyed the ever-loving daylights out of them and kept them walled off from parts of my life. My adoring grandmothers loved me in spite, despite, and because of who I was and yearned to be.