“Okay, I see where there might be a motive,” Parker agreed. “Either Jo planned to kill her father or, in a fit of frustration, she made a split second decision to run him down. But is that compelling enough evidence to run in there and accuse her of murder?”
“It isn’t. But there’s more,” Clarissa replied. “Jo was at the donut shop when her father died. Liana and I were there too. We tried to be helpful – we offered to unload paint from her car. She shooed us away. In fact, she acted weird.”
“How do you mean?”
“She seemed flustered,” Clarissa recalled. “She said she had forgotten the paint at the store. I think she was lying about buying paint in the first place.”
“She was trying to invent an alibi?” Parker theorized.
“Yes. And she sped out of that parking lot at lightning speed,” Clarissa recalled. “At first I thought she was just frazzled from trying to get the donut shop ready in time for the grand opening. But in retrospect, I think she was trying to get me and Liana to leave.”
“You think her father’s body was lying there in the alley?” Parker asked, furrowing his brow. “Jo was trying to prevent the two of you from finding it?”
“That’s exactly what I think,” Clarissa confirmed. “And now Jo is in a hurry to wrap up her father’s affairs, sell everything off and flee town. She thinks she’s in the clear. She thinks she’s about to get away with murder.”
Parker tipped his head to the side as he considered all that Clarissa had said.
“Well?” she prompted. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
“No,” he said. “I think you’re brilliant. And I think you’re right. I’m going to call the pol –”
Clarissa didn’t even give Parker a chance to finish his sentence. As soon as he validated her suspicions about Jo, she took off like a rocket. She sprinted across the neighbor’s lawn and over to the killer’s house, ignoring her boyfriend’s calls for her to come back.
There was a sign that said “for sale” at the edge of Jo’s lawn. There was no car in the driveway. The blinds in the windows were all drawn. For a moment, Clarissa was afraid she was too late. Maybe Jo had already skipped town, never to be heard from again.
Then Clarissa spotted a single light on in an upstairs window.
She felt a flicker of hope.
She rang the doorbell. Then she waited.
There was no answer.
As seconds turned to minutes, it became increasingly apparent that whoever was inside had no intention of coming to the door. And when the upstairs light went off, Clarissa knew she had to act fast.
She raced around to the back of the house.
By then, Parker had caught up to her.
“Is she home?” he asked breathlessly. Clearly he hadn’t seen the light on upstairs.
Clarissa hesitated.
She didn’t want to lie to her boyfriend. She didn’t like to lie ever, but especially not to Parker.
Then again, if she told the truth she knew exactly what her overprotective, cautious, logical boyfriend would say. He would insist she wait for the police to show up…and by then, it might be too late.
Parker was a very good man. He cared about Clarissa a great deal. That was evident from his actions – and from his concern for her safety. He would gladly let a killer go free as long as it meant Clarissa remained unharmed. It was sweet…and it was exactly why Clarissa had to tell a little white lie.
“Nobody came to the door,” she said, deliberately failing to mention the upstairs light. “Can you go across the street and get Joe Porter please?”
“Okay…what for?” Parker asked.
“Security,” she replied, even though she wasn’t sure the older gentleman would provide much security. She didn’t have time to come up with a better explanation. She had to catch up with Jo before the killer escaped into the night!
“Where are you going?” Parker asked as Clarissa turned to walk away.
“Um…lady issues,” she replied, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
Her sweet, kind, oblivious boyfriend didn’t seem to know how to respond. He opened his mouth and then promptly shut it again. He scratched his head. Then he stuttered, “I uh, do um…do you…er, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Go get Joe Porter,” Clarissa reiterated. Then she crossed her fingers behind her back and continued, “I have an old school friend who lives on this street. I’m uh….I’m going to stop by her place and see if she can help me out.”
Clarissa wasn’t the world’s best liar. But Parker probably mistook her stumbling for embarrassment. He certainly looked plenty mortified himself! It was laughable how such an accomplished, clever, professional man could be reduced to a red-faced, stuttering buffoon at the mere mention of lady issues!
Clarissa pretended to walk down the street.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Parker racing toward the Porter house.
Moving quickly, she doubled back and made a beeline for Jo Moreno’s place.
There was no time to waste.
She circled around to the back of the house. There, parked in the alley, was Jo Moreno’s black four door sedan. It was loaded up with boxes. Clearly she was in the process of moving her things out of the house.
Clarissa tried the gate into the backyard, but found it locked.
Undeterred, she hopped over the fence, albeit with some difficulty. Actually, she rather clumsily fell over the fence rather than hopping over it. She wished she had her broom with her. That would have made things a lot easier!
Clarissa stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees. Then she ran to the back door.
It was unlocked.
Quietly, she slipped inside.
She wasn’t sure what her plan was, exactly. All she knew was that she needed to stop Jo from leaving. All she really had to do was stall her until the police arrived. That shouldn’t be too hard, or too dangerous. Maybe she could simply –
“What are you doing here?” Jo’s voice said icily, cutting into her thoughts.
Clarissa gasped in alarm and spun around, her heart pounding.
Jo was standing at the top of the stairs – and she didn’t look happy.
Chapter 22
“Hi!” Clarissa exclaimed brightly, forcing a big smile.
“What are you doing in my house?” Jo demanded again, eyes narrowed.
“I was just in the neighborhood and uh…I thought I heard a noise,” Clarissa said, thinking fast. “I tried ringing the doorbell and no one answered. I was worried. Is everything okay?” she asked, feigning concern.
“Everything is fine,” Jo said curtly, crossing her arms.
Her tone was very unfriendly, and her body language made it loud and clear that she wanted Clarissa to leave. She was no longer acting like the polite, sociable young woman Clarissa had first met. Actually, she was being rather rude and standoffish. It was almost as though she had turned into another person.
In a way, the jarring transformation made perfect sense. Jo no longer needed to make nice with the residents of Sugarcomb Lake. Why bother, when she was about to skip town?
Her mind racing, Clarissa decided her best option was to play dumb. Why invite conflict if a confrontation could be avoided? She would simply try to chat with Jo, stalling her until the police arrived.
“I wish we’d been able to get to know each other. I feel really bad we haven’t had a chance to connect,” Clarissa rambled, trying her best to stall for time. “Maybe we could have a visit now?” she suggested, keeping her tone upbeat and unassuming.
“Now isn’t a good time,” Jo replied brusquely.
Deciding to ignore Jo’s not-so-subtle hints, Clarissa took a step inside. She made a big show of looking around the kitchen. Then she peered into the living room, which was completely devoid of furniture.
“Wow, this place is great!” she exclaimed. “I see the moving truck has already been here!”
Jo stared at her hard, saying nothing
.
“Which moving company did you use?” Clarissa asked, chattering away.
“Now really isn’t a good time,” Jo said, as though she thought Clarissa may have missed it the first time. Then she walked right past Clarissa and pulled the back door open as wide as it would go. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Well that was blunt. Clarissa couldn’t exactly feign ignorance over something so to-the-point! Hmm, what now? Desperate to keep Jo from leaving, Clarissa made one last attempt. “Can I use your bathroom please?”
“The water is shut off,” Jo replied.
“Oh.”
Clarissa and Jo stood there by the back door staring each other down.
Suddenly Jo’s eyes narrowed. “You know,” she said, her words chilling Clarissa to the bone.
“I know what?” Clarissa stuttered, still attempting to play dumb.
That was when Jo lunged at her.
The attack was so sudden that Clarissa didn’t even have time to react. One moment she was standing there in Jo’s kitchen deliberately acting obtuse. The next, she was sprawled out on the tile floor with a killer’s hands wrapped around her neck.
“Let go!” Clarissa gasped, trying in vain to pry Jo’s hands off her neck.
She couldn’t get free. And Jo’s vice-like grip was tightening. It was hard to breathe!
As she choked, Clarissa stared longingly at the still-open back door. Safety was so close, and yet so far away. She wished Parker would come charging in to rescue her, the police right behind him. Why had she sent him away? That had been a terrible idea.
Clarissa’s vision was becoming cloudy.
She stared up at Jo, silently pleading with her for mercy.
There was no compassion whatsoever in those cold, dead eyes.
The room was spinning. Clarissa knew she was going to lose consciousness soon. She decided to stop struggling. Maybe if she played dead, Jo would let go of her before she actually succumbed to the strangulation.
Clarissa let her body go limp. Even though her heart was pounding, she forced herself to be still.
The hands around her neck loosened somewhat. Then Jo let go and got off of her.
Clarissa tried to stay still. She counted to ten in her head. Then she cracked an eye open.
Unfortunately, Jo was still towering over her, waiting to see if she was actually dead.
Their eyes locked.
Clarissa’s heart pretty much stopped at that point. The look on Jo’s face was one of utter contempt. She was a monster. And she wanted Clarissa dead so she could keep playing the part of mourning daughter.
Immediately, Clarissa rolled to the side. She tried to get up, but her body was too oxygen-starved to cooperate with her. Her lungs were screaming for air. She took a deep, rasping, greedy breath and then began to cough uncontrollably.
Jo seized the opportunity that had presented itself. Letting out a warlike scream, she attacked Clarissa a second time. Sitting atop the still coughing woman, Jo once again began to choke her. This time her grip was even tighter.
Escape seemed unlikely. So did survival.
Clarissa didn’t want to die. Her life was only just starting! She had great friends, a terrific boyfriend and a career she loved. She couldn’t die. Her family would be devastated! Tears sprang to Clarissa’s eyes as she thought about everything she would miss out on.
Suddenly a black-furred beast barrelled in the open door.
All Clarissa heard was growling.
All she saw was a flash of sharp, fang-like teeth.
Then she lost consciousness.
***
When Clarissa came to, she didn’t know how much time had passed. For a moment, she thought she might be dead. Then she realized Cat was sitting on her chest glaring at her. The sneaky little critter must have snuck into her car!
Clarissa began to cough.
The cat jumped off of her, still looking angry. It sat there watching her impatiently. Its tail flicked back and forth violently, as if the little beast was enraged. When Clarissa had finally stopped coughing, the cat spoke.
“You idiot!” the cat scolded her in heavily-accented English. “What were you thinking? You could have been killed. And then who would feed me?”
Clarissa sat up and looked around.
“Where is Jo?” she demanded.
“Gone,” Cat replied before turning its back.
“Where did she go?” Clarissa asked.
The cat ignored her. It was now busy washing its face. Clearly the conversation was over.
Suddenly Clarissa heard a noise in the backyard. It was the unmistakable sound of the back gate opening. It scraped noisily against the gravel, giving away both Jo’s location and her intentions. She was about to make a run for it!
Climbing to her feet, Clarissa raced outside. Her neck hurt and her lungs burned, but she tried her best to ignore her physical ailments. She made it to the backyard just in time to hear the roar of Jo’s car as she took off down the back alley.
Clarissa tried her best to chase after Jo on foot, but it was no use.
She stumbled out of the alley just as Parker stepped out of the Porter house. Joe Porter was nowhere to be seen. Patricia however, was inside. She was peeking out the living room window with her phone in her hand, gabbing a mile a minute to whomever she was talking to.
“Joe wasn’t home,” Parker called out to Clarissa.
She tried to reply, but her voice was pretty much gone. All that came out was a raspy, hoarse sounding squeak. Then she doubled over coughing, still feeling the nasty effects of Jo’s brazen murder attempt.
When Parker saw the state Clarissa was in, he broke into a run.
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
“She got away!” Clarissa gasped.
“What happened to your neck?” Parker asked, looking horrified.
“No time!” Clarissa insisted. “Get your car!”
“We brought your car,” Parker reminded her.
Clarissa searched her pockets for her keys. She couldn’t find them. They must have fallen out during her struggle with Jo! She looked around. She spotted Morris Norman’s red jeep parked down the street, right front of his house.
He wouldn’t have possibly left the keys in the ignition, right? Surely after having his jeep stolen by a joyriding young hooligan, he would have learned his lesson. At least that was what one might expect. Then again, some people just never learned…
Crossing her fingers, Clarissa raced down the street.
Clarissa found the red jeep unlocked. And when she checked, she spotted the keys in the cup holder, just waiting to be used. She jumped in and stuck the keys in the ignition. The engine sputtered to life.
“Clarissa, what are you doing?” Parker demanded, banging on her window.
“Are you coming or not?” she called to him.
Wordlessly, he raced around to the passenger side of the jeep. He jumped in and Clarissa floored the gas. At that exact moment, Barbara Norman emerged from her house waving frantically.
She held a phone in one of her hands.
She was gossiping furiously with Patricia Porter, no doubt.
Clarissa ignored the plump, frantic older woman.
“You’re stealing a car!” Parker exclaimed in awed disbelief.
“We’re borrowing it,” Clarissa corrected him.
“You do realize you’re never going to hear the end of this, right?” Parker asked. “Barbara Norman is practically breathing fire right now. She’s going to have it out for you from now until the end of eternity.”
“I know.”
Parker said nothing, opting instead to let Clarissa concentrate on driving. But he was looking at her like he was in complete and utter admiration of her. Well, at least he was until she nearly drove the jeep into a parked car. After that, he focused on helping her navigate.
The good thing about Sugarcomb Lake was that there weren’t many highways leading out of it. In fact, there was only one main high
way. Clarissa knew it well, as it was the one that she took to get to Green City. Acting on a hunch, she headed in that direction.
Luck was on her side.
After several minutes of driving way over the speed limit, Clarissa spotted Jo’s black sedan. It was driving erratically, and way too fast. The good news was that Clarissa had a whole lifetime of speeding under her belt. She was easily able to catch up to Jo.
“Clarissa there’s a train coming!” Parker cautioned as they approached the tracks.
Sure enough, the train was chugging right along. In a moment it would be blocking the entire highway. The warning lights at the intersection began to flash, signalling that drivers ought to stop and wait until it was safe to proceed.
“Oh no,” Clarissa moaned. “It’s a long one, too!”
If Jo made it across the tracks, she would get away for sure. By the time the train was gone, Jo would have made her escape. Clarissa looked at the train, trying frantically to gauge whether it was safe to cross the tracks.
“Don’t do it,” Parker cautioned, basically reading her mind. “You won’t have time.”
Muttering under her breath, Clarissa slammed on her brakes.
She was certain Jo was going to get away.
But it seemed that Jo had experienced a change of heart. At the last second, she seemed to decide she couldn’t beat the train. She hit her brakes so hard that she skidded, leaving black streaks all over the highway.
She managed to stop just shy of the train, which was charging past.
Clarissa pulled up right behind Jo’s car, blocking her escape route. Now Jo wouldn’t be able to turn around. She was trapped. Clarissa and Parker bolted from the “borrowed” jeep, racing toward the black sedan.
The door opened.
For a second Clarissa thought Jo was going to try to make a run for it on foot.
But then the door slammed shut and the car roared to life.
“Look out!” Clarissa hollered. She tackled Parker as Jo threw her car into reverse.
Parker came very close to being run over. It was only Clarissa’s quick thinking – and violent tackle – that saved him. They tumbled to the ground, Parker letting out a grunt as the air was knocked out of him.
A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 13