Murder at Le Bijou Bistro: Northwest Cozy Mystery Series (Northwest Cozy Mysteries Book 5)

by Dianne Harman

  “Ima happy to kill her too,” Al muttered, before he was silenced by Cassie.

  “Ssh,” Cassie said. “I don’t want to hear any more talk about killing anybody. As long as we get Briana home safely, that’s the end of it, as far as I’m concerned. We’ll leave it to law enforcement.”

  Luke joined the conversation. “Cassie’s right, Al. It won’t be necessary for you to kill anyone. I’ve got the local sheriff’s department on standby in case we need reinforcements. I’m hoping when we find Briana it will be a quick matter of going in there and removing her from danger. If the killer is there, we’ll deal with him or her in accordance with police kidnap protocol.”

  Al winked at Harry, who nodded toward the bag at his feet. DeeDee wondered if the bag had ever contained body parts. She tried to push the thought out of her mind, not wanting to share the ride back home with a dismembered Mario or Jessica. Meanwhile, Harry, in keeping with his librarian persona, turned back to the novel he was reading, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Every so often a crunching sound came from him, which was made by his teeth crushing the hard candies he popped in his mouth, one after another.

  DeeDee glanced at Jake, who was sitting beside her. DeeDee, Cassie, Al, and Harry had met Jake and Luke at Lake Washington, where, thanks to Rob, a seaplane was waiting to take the six of them to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island. Rob had arranged for two cars to be waiting for them when they arrived at Deer Harbor, so they could drive to the location on the island where Briana was presumably being held captive.

  Using the GPS coordinates provided by Briana’s cell phone, Rob had also determined the exact location on Orcas Island where her cell phone and hopefully, Briana, were located. Also, by using the Google Maps app, he’d provided them with an aerial photograph of an old cabin that was located at the site pinpointed by the GPS.

  DeeDee’s stomach growled. She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a plastic container. Four heads turned when she opened it, the only exception being Harry.

  “You brought cookies?” Jake asked incredulously as he reached into the container and grabbed a large circular golden cookie scattered with melted chocolate chips. He grinned. “Is it any wonder I love you?”

  “I remembered I’d brought them to give to Roz,” DeeDee said, passing the container around. “They’re healthier than they look, and with Roz’s pregnancy, she says she’s eating everything in sight. Since we didn’t have time for lunch, I don’t think she’ll mind sacrificing them to keep everyone’s energy up.”

  Al munched a cookie. “Cassie, why can’t you bake like this? Ima gonna have to divorce ya’ and marry DeeDee instead.”

  “DeeDee’s taken,” Jake said. “But she can give Cassie the recipe. If you think these are good, you should try her cherry crumble. It’s really something.”

  The trip by seaplane took about ninety minutes. DeeDee spent the time looking at the bird’s eye view of Puget Sound as they traveled towards the San Juan Islands. She knew from history lessons the islands had been named after the Viceroy of Mexico who had sent an exploratory expedition to the Pacific Northwest at the end of the eighteenth century. Although DeeDee had lived in the Seattle area her whole life, she’d only visited the islands once before, on a trip with her ex-husband, Lyle. On that occasion, they’d gone to San Juan Island, which was smaller than Orcas Island, although more people lived there. She’d read somewhere that Orcas Island had a population of less than six thousand people.

  After landing on the water at Deer Harbor, the seaplane taxied up to a nearby jetty. When the six passengers on the plane had disembarked, a man in a uniform bearing the logo “Orcas Rental Car” approached Al and said, “Are you Mr. De Duco?”

  Al responded, “Yes, that’s me. Looks like ya’ gotta couple of rental cars for me, is that right?”

  “Yes, sir, along with a copy of a map I was instructed by a man named Rob to give to you. He told me to tell you to just follow the map to get to where you wanted to go here on Orcas Island,” the man said. “Here are the keys for the two vehicles. Hope you enjoy your stay on Orcas Island.” With that the man turned and walked back to a nearby waiting car where two other rental car employees were standing.

  “Cassie, DeeDee, I want you to stay with Harry,” Al ordered, directing them to one of the cars. “Ima gonna’ ride with Jake and Luke. Stay outta sight til’ we tell ya’ it’s safe, okay?”

  Cassie started to protest. “But Briana’s my dau—”

  “No buts,” Al said firmly. He turned to Harry. “Ya’ know the drill. Stay low unless I tell ya’ otherwise. If I give the signal, we go to plan B, got it?”

  Harry nodded. “Yes, Boss.”

  “What’s plan B?” DeeDee asked.

  Al lowered his voice so Luke, who was approaching the group, wouldn’t hear him. “Ya’ don’t wanna’ know. That’s when me n’ Harry here take care of business. Whatever it takes.”

  DeeDee gulped. She didn’t like the sound of Plan B at all.

  *****

  The late afternoon sun was fading by the time the cars slowly drove through the woods toward a clearing where an old wooden cabin was visible.

  “Stop here,” Al said to Luke, who was driving. “There’s a car parked out front. Jake, can ya’ ask Rob to run a check on the license plate?”

  Jake nodded. After the car stopped, Jake got out and walked down the dirt road to speak to Harry, who was driving the car behind them.

  “What’s happening?” Cassie asked Jake, winding down her window in the back. “Is Briana in there? I want to see my little girl.”

  “You have to stay here, Cassie,” Jake said, his face solemn. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet. There’s someone there, but we’re not sure who. I’m calling Rob, so he can get more information for us.”

  “How will you do that, Jake?” DeeDee asked. “Cell phone service is spotty. Don’t forget, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  Jake pulled a radio transmitter out of his coat pocket. “I’m a private investigator. We come prepared. Sit tight, okay?”

  Cassie rolled the window back up, and Jake walked into the woods, talking into the radio handset.

  “The car belongs to Jessica Simmons,” Jake said when he returned to where Al and Luke were waiting by the side of the first car, talking in hushed tones.

  Al’s face fell. “Not Carlucci? I was gonna’ enjoy surprisin’ him when we walked in.”

  Luke straightened up and pulled out his gun. “And I’m going to enjoy surprising Jessica Simmons, and holding her accountable for what she did to Megan. Are we ready, gentlemen?”

  Jake and Al nodded in unison, drawing their weapons. “Let’s go,” Luke said.

  The three men spread out as they approached the cabin, Jake and Al from either end of it, and Luke from the back. As Jake crept closer to the cabin, he could smell the unmistakable aroma of a freshly baked cake coming from an open window. Jake followed his nose, and saw Luke at the rear of the cabin. Luke’s back was to the wall, his ear cocked toward the window. Jake heard the sound of twigs snapping behind him, and turned to see Al drawing closer as well. Luke raised a finger to his mouth to signal them to be quiet, and Jake and Al edged forward in silence.

  Jessica’s voice carried through the open window. “Just when things were going well, and I finally had a chance to make a name for myself, it all went wrong. A Gourmand Guide to Eats was an internet sensation until it’s success was deliberately sabotaged. And who was to blame, huh? Your prissy, stuck-up, perfect mother, that’s who.”

  Jake watched Al’s face almost turn purple, as Al released the safety lock on his pistol. Jake frantically shook his head at Al, and held his arm out to block the back entrance of the cabin, so Al couldn’t barge in and start shooting.

  “That’s why I’m going to kill you,” Jessica continued, her voice calm and steady. Jake strained to hear what she was saying. “I tried to finish off that annoying mother of yours, but the wrong person got the special cake I made for her.
Not this time, though. Oh, no. I’m going to personally feed you this delicious cake, bite by bite. The only shame is your death will be pretty quick, not as slow and painful as I’d like it to be.”

  “I’ve heard enough. I’m going in,” Luke whispered. “Jake, before I storm the back, can you get up on the porch and cover me through that window? Judging by the way her voice is carrying, Jessica’s up at that end.”

  Jake nodded while Al made a growling sound.

  “Al, cover the front in case she tries to make a run for it,” Luke said.

  Al stomped away with a frown in his face. “Don’t see why Ima missin’ the action,” he muttered on his way past Jake.

  Jake stealthily climbed the steps on the back porch, inching his way closer to the window. He peeked around the window frame and looked inside. Jessica was standing with her back to the window, a gun trained on two women tied to chairs, their mouths taped shut. One of them was Briana, but Jake didn’t recognize the other young woman. Jake could see a mortar and pestle on the countertop containing a crushed powder substance, and on the table between Jessica and the two women was a two-tier chocolate cake with a shiny chocolate glaze dripping down the sides.

  Jessica was still talking. “I’ll let your bodies rot in the woods. I’ll let the wild critters feed off you until nothing but your bones are left. Maybe I’ll post a souvenir photo for Cassie to remember you by. I think your pinkie finger would be a good one. That should be easy to chop off.”

  Briana, who was wriggling in the chair, her eyes wide with fear, looked up momentarily and caught sight of Jake through the window. He ducked out of sight, holding his breath. Jessica didn’t appear to have noticed.

  “And you,” she said, turning her gaze towards Ashley, as her voice got louder. “You’re a sorry excuse for a daughter. Have I ever told you how much of a disappointment you’ve been to me, Ashley? I’m glad you showed up today, so I never have to see your pathetic ugly face again. If that loser of a boyfriend of yours had done what I paid him to do, and made sure the cake went to Cassie Roberts’ table, none of this would have been necessary. You’re indirectly to blame for your own downfall. That’s rich, isn’t it? Your disaster of a life has been one big waste of time, and you won’t be missed by anyone, least of all, me.”

  Jake turned to Luke, who nodded at him. Jumping back up to the window, Jake waved his hands in a downward motion to Briana, who wobbled her chair to the side, hitting Ashley in the process. Both of the women’s chairs crashed over to the floor. Sensing someone was behind her, Jessica swung around to where Jake was standing at the window, aimed her gun, and fired off a wild shot. The bullet missed him and shattered the window pane next to where he was standing. Jake couldn’t fire at Jessica, because the two women on the floor were in his line of fire.

  As he started to duck down below the window, he saw that Luke was inside the cabin and creeping up behind Jessica. She began firing wildly, and in the chaos that followed, Jake rushed along the porch to the back door and ran inside. Luke had been hit and was on the floor, and Jessica was crawling towards the front door of the cabin. Knowing Al would be waiting for her when she exited, Jake ran across to the three bodies lying on the floor of the cabin. Briana and Ashley were both writhing around, still tied to their chairs, but there was no movement from Luke.

  Jake checked Luke’s pulse, and then he heard him groan. Luke opened one eye. “I wasn’t shot. She hit me with the kettle when she ran out of bullets,” he moaned with a half-smile. “Help me up so I can arrest her for Megan’s murder, will you?”

  Jake pulled Luke up to his feet, then cut the ropes tying Briana and Ashley, before pulling the tape off their mouths. Briana winced as she stood up. “Ow.”

  Jake looked at them both for signs of gunshot wounds. “Have either of you been hit?”

  Briana shook her head. “No, but my wrists are cut from the rope. Ashley, are you alright?”

  Ashley nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. “Yes. This week has really sucked, huh?” She smiled at Briana, who put her arm around her friend and led her toward the wide-open door.

  Jake followed the two girls out the front door, where Luke had arrested Jessica for the murder of Megan Reilly and was reading her the Miranda Rights.

  Al was standing with a giant grin on his face, and when Cassie caught sight of Briana, she raced across the patchy grass to greet her daughter and smother her with kisses. DeeDee ran to help Ashley, and make sure she was in one piece.

  Using Jake’s radio transmitter, Luke called the local sheriff’s office and within five minutes, they were on the scene. The paramedics put Jessica on a gurney and put her in an ambulance. Rubbing his head, Luke approached Al where he was standing beside Jake near the rental cars.

  “I was wondering why you’re looking so pleased with yourself, Al,” Luke said. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Jessica’s been shot in both legs, would it? I’m pretty sure I got her in the left leg before she crawled away, but I only shot her once.”

  Al stroked his chin. “I can explain that,” he said. “It was self-defense. She came out waving a gun at me. What’s a guy to do?” he asked.

  Luke frowned. “She was out of ammo, Al. She sprayed the cabin with so many bullets, the walls look like Swiss cheese.”

  Al shrugged. “Well, then I guess we all had a lucky escape. C’mon, lma hungry. Where’s a guy get a good steak around here, that’s what I’d like to know?” He cocked his head. “Let’s go.”

  EPILOGUE

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  When DeeDee, Jake and Balto arrived at Cassie and Al’s new home on Bainbridge Island, the party was in full swing. Cassie met them at the door. “DeeDee! Happy birthday. That dress is beautiful.”

  DeeDee’s face lit up, and she smiled at Jake, who was holding her hand. His blue-eyes were gazing down at her with pride. “Jake bought it for me as a surprise. He saw me admire it the evening of your birthday, when we were on the way to Le Bijou Bistro.”

  Cassie’s forehead crinkled. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night. Come on in, everyone’s waiting for you. I hope you don’t mind us having our housewarming bash on your birthday, but a little birdie told me you won’t be able to stay very long.”

  They followed Cassie down the hallway to the great room at the back of the house, where folding doors were opened onto the sprawling garden. At the end of the garden, where the grass met the water, was a small sailboat with a pink and yellow sail tied to the dock.

  “That’s right,” DeeDee said. “We’re on our way to the airport. The flight to Paris leaves at 10:35 tonight, then we transfer to Marseille, and we’ll be in Provence. Thanks for watching Balto while we’re away. I’m not sure who’s more excited about our trip, me, or Balto, since he gets to stay with his hero, Al.”

  Balto wagged his tail, and raced across the grass to where Al was standing by the barbeque.

  Cassie handed them both a glass of champagne. “Al’s happy to have Balto here too. He knows how much Balto likes boat rides. We can all go out in our new boat.” She pointed toward the sailboat on the water. “Isn’t it cute? Al can’t wait to start taking sailing lessons. We’re going to do them together.”

  DeeDee sipped her champagne. “Balto will be beside himself. He won’t want to come home when we get back in a week. But I thought Al wasn’t a real fan of water?”

  Cassie laughed. “He wasn’t, but he agreed to go for some hypnotherapy treatments with a friend of mine who’s a therapist, and now he’s a convert. I’m telling you, I can’t get him out of the pool. He’s had heaters installed, and he’s swimming in it twice a day.”

  DeeDee giggled. “That’s amazing.”

  Al spotted them and waved. “Hey, you guys. I’m keeping the best steak for you, DeeDee, but Balto’s got his eye on it, too.”

  “In that case, I’ll be right there, Al.” DeeDee looked around at the other guests milling on the lawn. “Is that Luke I see, talking to Briana?”

  Cassie smil
ed. “Yes, the two of them have been spending time together since Luke rescued her at the cabin. He’s still grieving for Megan, but they seem to have formed some type of a connection.”

  “I can tell where this conversation is going,” Jake said, squeezing DeeDee’s arm. “I’m going to go help Al with the barbecue.”

  DeeDee watched him walk over to Al, who greeted him with a slap on the back before swapping Jake’s champagne glass for a bottle of beer. “What about Ashley?” she asked Cassie.

  “She’s here somewhere,” Cassie said, looking around, “with a nice young man called Sam. Ash says they’re not dating, but if they’re not now, I’d bet they will be in the very near future. Briana told me Ashley has gotten in touch with her father, Pat, and he’s going to pay for her to go to catering school. Her mother had always kept them apart, but Pat very much wants to be a part of her life.”

  “I’m so glad that worked out,” DeeDee said. “Have you decided whether to stay on at The Seattle Times, now that Jessica’s behind bars?”

  Cassie’s eyes twinkled. “I think so, for now. It’s not exactly hard work, and I enjoy it. Al likes it too, since it gives us an excuse for date nights twice a week. Oh, I meant to ask you. How’s Roz?”

  “She’s showing already. She and Clark are so excited about the twins. I have to say, I am too. I’m not sure Jake’s so taken with the idea of us babysitting two little ones, though.”

  “He’ll come around,” Cassie said. “Let’s go get some food before you guys leave for SeaTac.”

  As they walked across the grass, another thought occurred to DeeDee. “Did Al ever find out what the story was with Mario Carlucci? He seemed convinced Mario was out to get him.”

  “Apparently, Mario had other things on his mind. After we got back from Orcas Island, Al spoke to a contact of his who told him Mario got caught up with a business deal the week Megan died. If he had thoughts of causing trouble for Al and me, the dollar signs involved in the business deal got the better of him. He backed away and had nothing to do with Megan’s death.”