He waited until both EV and Chloe nodded their understanding before continuing.
“My mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts as I watched the two of them over the course of the evening. Until that night, I hoped I had been mistaken; that I had taken the admiring looks between Evan and Allegra for something more than what they were: the innocent glances between two people who agree on an issue. My wife is an attractive woman, and I could never blame a man for thinking so. But as the night wore on, unless it was my imagination, Allegra’s eyes seemed to seek Evan out with a hunger that she should be keeping only for me, her husband.
Still, I couldn’t accuse her without evidence, so I watched and waited a few days until one night, when she fell asleep before me.
I’m not as stupid as people think. It only took me a few minutes to crack the password on her cell phone—password is not a safe password, Allegra—and there it was, in black and white. Texts, emails, phone logs: proof.
Did she think she could pull the wool over my eyes forever? No, it was time to face facts; my wife was having an affair with the sleaziest scumbag in town.
Anger, in a pulsing wave of emotion, rose up to swamp me; its red fire sending my blood pressure soaring, tightening my collar until it felt like I might choke on the emotion. I had to get out of there; my feet carried me on an aimless path that eventually led me down Winding Road Lane.
I stood in the warm wash of a street lamp with fists clenched, until my nails dug bloody crescents in the flesh of my palms.
No. I forced the anger back to fold in on itself like a newly-washed shirt. Allegra loved me. She might cheat, but she would never leave me. Beat by beat, my heart rate slowed; my mind cleared to a dead calm. No. Everything was fine. A good marriage involved forgiveness. I had to remember that.
Finally calm, I turned back. Preoccupation with my thoughts had carried me a long way from home. When I heard voices coming from the church, I promise you I intended to turn away, but a name caught my attention. Without thinking twice, I slid into the shadows between a yew bush and the wall near the window, being careful to keep my steps silent, and listened.
What I heard turned my blood cold, then hot again, and stunned me so thoroughly that when one of the conversationalists departed the church to stroll past where I stood hidden from sight, I never even moved.
I was still standing there, minutes later when a white cat streaked past me to leap through the window. I could hear Luther whistling while he worked. I heard him yell at the cat; the next thing I heard was a muted cry followed by a thump. I was still standing there while Luther died.”
Ashton turned toward the women so they could see the tears of anguish forming.
“You have to believe me, I had no idea what happened. If I had known, I would have tried to help. I swear I would have. No matter what you might think of me, I didn’t kill Luther. It wasn’t murder; it was some kind of accident. The cat must have slammed into the ladder. You know how rickety it was, everyone who’s used it knows that.”
Gently, since she was in a position to know the facts, EV assured him, “There was nothing you could have done for Luther. Nothing anyone could have done.”
Her words had no effect; Ashton waved the gun around while the three women huddled together. Allegra had joined EV and Chloe behind the island.
Seeming unable to speak, Allegra bowed her head in shame. Every so often, she shook with silent tears.
“I had no beef with Luther. It wasn’t his fault his brother couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I never wanted Luther dead. But when everyone thought he was murdered, it gave me ideas. I’m a lot smarter than people think I am,” he repeated.
“You hear that, Allegra? I’m not an idiot. You’re the stupid one. He joked about it. Did you know that? You were nothing but a joke. He laughed about dancing in the sheets with someone else’s wife. I heard him telling Luther about the blackmail notes, and figured I could use the situation to my advantage.”
Tears clogged Ashton’s voice. “He was holding one of the notes when he…when I hit him. After it was all over, I took it and used it to forge one for Luther. Then I dropped it in the box at Evan’s funeral. I figured if everyone thought the blackmailer killed them both, I’d be off the hook. All I meant to do was scare him into staying away from my wife, but then I heard them talking on the phone and my brain just clicked off. Everything went red and then…then Evan was dead.””
Chloe caught EV’s eye; this was the answer to why an empty envelope was among the items found at the scene of the crime.
“How did you get into his house?” Chloe tried to distract him, to buy more time. Maybe he would calm down enough to put the gun down before anyone got hurt, or worse, killed.
“This is Ponderosa Pines; nothing bad ever happens here. He left his doors unlocked just like everybody else does. There he was, so busy celebrating over fighting with EV, and then breaking my wife’s heart, he didn’t hear me when I walked up behind him. But I could hear you, Allegra, crying and begging him for one more chance to be together.”
“Let me get this straight,” EV’s words fell like desert dust, “You killed him—not just because he was sleeping with your wife—but because he broke up with her and made her cry?”
The man was batcrap crazy with a size of loose screws.
Chapter 31
When the call came in from Allegra, Nate had been in the unenviable position of standing between two invective-spitting sisters. Talia Plunkett and Lottie Calabrese were either going to make up, or kill each other, and at this point, Nate wasn’t sure which one he preferred.
Having been raised by peace-loving parents who instilled them with a sense of propriety, the two women broke off the argument long enough to let him answer the phone.
“Hello.”
“Ashton’s headed toward EV Torrence’s place and he’s got a gun.”
“Allegra?”
“I’m going after him. Chloe and EV are on their way home. Hurry,” she hung up.
Nate turned to Talia, “you two are going to have to work this out without me.” He punched speed dial on his phone, “I need backup at EV Torrence’s place; Ashton Worth is over there and he’s looking for trouble. Watch yourself, Burnsoll, he’s armed.” Nate’s uniformed butt barely touched his car seat before Talia and Lottie, fight forgotten, were making a beeline for Lottie’s Prius.
* * *
Struggling to keep her tone quiet and even while every nerve in her body vibrated, Chloe filled the silence, “Ashton, Allegra’s crying can’t you hear her? She frightened and needs you to console her. Don’t you, Allegra?”
When Allegra continued to shudder, Chloe gave her the elbow, and followed it up with a tiny shove. Getting in between a homicidal maniac and his emotional trigger was just about the last thing she wanted to do today, and she silently cursed herself for not calling Nate the minute she and EV knew Ashton was the killer. If pushing Allegra into the fray was what it took to stay alive, she was all in with that.
“No. No. No. She doesn’t need me, that’s clearer than ever, now.” Ashton’s voice quavered. “There’s only one thing left to do.”
“But she does need you. Look at her, Ashton. Look at her.” He turned his head away.
“Talk to him, Allegra. Right now,” Chloe hissed at the woman. “Before he kills us all. This is your mess; now you clean it up.”
When Allegra finally opened her mouth, what came out was completely unexpected, “Shoot me, Ashton. Please just kill me. I can’t bear to live knowing all the pain I’ve caused.” Allegra stumbled away from the scant protection provided by the kitchen island, taking several tentative steps toward her husband.
“No. Don’t come any closer,” he all but shrieked at her. The gun rose upward to slam, barrel first, into his temple. His finger slid onto the trigger.
“Stop!” Allegra cried out. “Don’t, please Ashton, please. For me.”
“Why? You don’t want me, haven’t wanted me for a long time. I
’ve killed someone, Allegra. There’s no coming back from this. I’ve lost everything. Everything. Don’t come any closer.”
Ashton’s finger twitched, began to squeeze, but Allegra kept walking.
Chloe dropped to the floor, grabbed EV’s arm, and dragged her down, out of the line of fire.
The next thing they heard was the crash of breaking glass as Nate burst through the window and slammed into Ashton, knocking the gun free from his hands. Dalton used the door, but it was all over before he cleared the frame.
All the fight gone out of him, Ashton sobbed while Nate secured his hands behind his back, and left him to lie among glittering shards of window glass before rounding the island to see for himself whether Chloe was hurt. His words were terse, his voice strained, when he ordered Dalton: “See to Allegra.”
He pulled first EV then Chloe to their feet, and checked them for damage before giving Chloe a shake. “What were you thinking? You don’t chase after criminals; you could have been hurt.”
“Technically, he chased after us,” Chloe tried to pull Nate’s hands away, but he held her firmly and enveloped her into a tight hug. A chill that had nothing to do with recently being cornered by a madman with a gun ran up her spine. Chloe pressed her head to Nate’s chest, felt his heart racing in rhythm with her own. “I’m fine,” she said softly, looking up into the ocean blue of his eyes. “Nice tackle, by the way.”
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked, concern still coloring his face. “If anything had happened to you…” He pulled her close again before giving her another shake. “Chloe, you know you’re the one…”
“You’re the one who’s bleeding, Nathaniel.” EV gently pointed out before reaching for the first aid kit she kept in one of her kitchen drawers. Chloe could have killed her for interrupting at that particular moment. Nate had been about to say something interesting. Half a dozen shallow nicks testified to Nate’s trip through the window. With whatever moment they had been about to have now passed, Chloe cleaned and treated each one with gentle hands, while EV turned her own attention to Allegra.
A small gash on Allegra’s cheek dripped a stream of red, but EV was more concerned for the woman’s emotional state. Her shaking hands felt chilled; her face so pale that the drops of blood stood out in startling relief. EV gave Dalton’s arm a squeeze before pulling Allegra away from him to settle her on the sofa with a crooked afghan. Using her voice as a soothing balm, EV reassured Allegra while she gently cleaned the cut, closed it with a butterfly bandage, then moved on to similarly treat Ashton.
As much trouble as he had caused, Ashton made a pitiful sight with tears and snot running down his face.
A flurry of activity followed Nate’s spectacular take-down, making it impossible for he and Chloe to get a moment alone. She was starting to realize that EV might be right; her feelings for Nate were not as firmly planted in the friend zone as she would like to admit. Still, it didn’t change the fact that he would hightail it as soon as he could. Regardless, now was not the time to sort out her feelings; people were still milling about, and probably would be for at least another couple of hours.
As if on cue, Talia and Lottie arrived with much skidding and screeching of tires, and stayed long after the State Troopers had taken Ashton off to jail. To her surprise, Chloe was happy to see both of them, and greeted each with an uncharacteristically warm hug.
It turned out that Nate had been standing outside the window recording Ashton’s confession, and had only taken action when he threatened to kill himself. Once in police custody, Ashton clammed up. But the standard pat down turned up an envelope with Allegra’s name on it, containing a lengthy, tear-splotched confession written in his own hand.
Even as he was being hauled into custody, Ashton maintained he had never intended to harm EV or Chloe. No one was buying it.
Allegra, it was decided, would spend the night in EV’s guest room while Nate searched her house for evidence to support Ashton’s confession and ensure a conviction. She, along with EV and Chloe, scheduled a meeting with Dalton for the following day to make their official statements.
Before leaving, Dalton turned to EV, “You still owe me a night of dancing. Friday. I’ll pick you up at 8:00.” Then, before she had time to deflect, he pulled her against him and planted a searing kiss on her lips while Chloe hooted and cheered. Dalton’s face was red, but his grin was a mile wide when he turned to leave.
He never saw EV brush a hand over her mouth as she watched him walk away.
If EV thought the withering look she turned on Chloe would have any effect, she was sadly mistaken.
* * *
Once her heart rate slowed enough to think clearly, curiosity threatened to overwhelm Chloe. Had Allegra suspected Ashton? What did she know? Most of all, how long before Chloe could ask without being considered thoughtless? That elephant was so big it would take up way more than just the one room.
Her eye fell on Lottie. Lottie who had not said a word about being the tipster while Nate was around. Chloe’s nose wrinkled at the smell of a good story. First chance she got, she’d pry. Turned out she didn’t even have to do that much.
Talia, tearful with relief at learning her Luther had not been murdered, bustled about the kitchen with a broom and dustpan. Everyone noticed, but did not remark on the fact that she continued sweeping long after every piece of glass was gone. Lottie finally grabbed the broom, tossed it away and pulled her into a fierce hug.
“Oh, Lottie,” Talia’s voice broke. “I’m sorry for shutting you out.”
“Well, you thought it might have been me who killed Luther.”
“You knew I suspected you?”
Lottie hugged her again. “It’s a sister thing. Luther might not have been my choice for you, but he did his best to make you happy.” Left unsaid was anything about his less than ethical business practices.
“It was an accident, not murder,” Talia took a deep breath to let the words sink in. “Not murder,” she repeated. Relieved of that burden, her spine straightened just a bit. “I’ve been so worried that whoever killed him might come after me next.”
“I never thought…I mean…I have a confession to make.” Lottie let go of Talia, and walked to the table where she slumped into a chair and dropped her head in her hands.
After a moment, when she had composed herself, Lottie beckoned Talia to take a seat.
“Please, please don’t hate me for this, Tallie, but I was there.”
“You…where? I don’t understand.” Dread bleached the color from Talia’s face.
“I was at the church. Not inside, and not when Luther fell.”
Chloe shot EV a look, and a swift but gentle kick under the table. The tipster was about to reveal all.
“I finished the book I was reading, but I couldn’t find another one in the house that looked interesting, so I decided to walk into town and check the book boxes.” Romance novels were Lottie’s addiction. “I was just getting ready to turn on my penlight, and check the box across the street from the church when I saw someone sneak into the bushes. It looked suspicious, and I was curious, so I doubled back, crossed the street and came up on the far side of by the rectory.”
Her audience sat spellbound, so Lottie continued, “I heard Luther and Evan arguing and plotting. Evan was being blackmailed by someone to push through the Gilmore annexation scheme, and he wanted Luther to help him. I got distracted at first, but when Evan left I remembered the person in the bushes, so I slowly crept to the corner to see if I could tell who it was. The window was open, and there was just enough light that Ashton’s face stood out clearly. I figured he was just being nosy, so I turned around and got out of there before he saw me.”
“So you were gone before Luther fell? Ashton said a white cat jumped through the window. We’ll never know for sure, but we think the cat either jumped onto that rickety ladder, or startled Luther. And that’s how he fell.”
“Well, I didn’t see the cat until I found her crying in th
e bushes on my way home, but I did see Ashton.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone? You could have saved Evan if you had spoken up before.” Talia’s voice rode the edge of bitterness.
“Cut me a break, Tallie, there was no way I could have known what Ashton would do. None of us knew about Allegra. For all I knew, Ashton was the one who was blackmailing Evan.”
“No, I guess you couldn’t have known,” Talia admitted.
“After Evan was killed and Ashton started targeting EV, I called the Pine Cone tip line. I didn’t know what else to do. By the time I realized he might be connected to Evan’s death, you weren’t speaking to me, and I was afraid you would think I was meddling. I figured the paper must turn all the tips over to the police, so that was the easiest way to stay anonymous. I thought it was funny, though, that young Nathaniel seemed to talk to everyone but Ashton.”
“Tha…” Chloe started to explain until EV delivered a firm kick to her ankle, reminding her no one was supposed to know she had access to the tip line.
“…t is strange,” she covered quickly then asked, “did you give any details on the tip line?”
Lottie thought it over, “I said I’d seen Ashton near the church on the night Luther died. That’s pretty specific, right?”
“Hmm, yeah. Maybe something happened to the line; some kind of technical glitch.” Chloe pursed her lips. Time to change the subject before she outed herself.
From where she lay on the couch, a cool cloth over her forehead, Allegra spoke. “I had no idea. I know you all are wondering. Not until knitting group when something Lottie said made it all click into place. Then everything happened so fast. I called Nate, and then ran all the way here to see if I could help, but all I did was fall apart. I could have gotten you all killed. Everything that happened—it’s all my fault.”
Cat Killed A Rat (Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Page 16