Life is Better Brunette

by Diane Bator

  "Oh crap." She tried to look down to check, but her right arm blocked her view. "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?"

  "Taking care of things before everyone goes crazy and someone gets killed." He nudged her with the gun. "You two boys need to go back to Mick's car and drive away now. Gilda and I have some business to take care of."

  "With who?" Mick glanced at Kane and gave his head a small jerk to the left.

  Gilda closed her eyes. "Don't try to reason with him. Just do what he says. Please."

  Kane took a small step toward them. "You both know the police will be here soon, mate. Why don't you just tell us what you're up to? Mick and I can help you out of trouble, and then we can all go home and live happily ever after. Deal?"

  "No deal. Like I said, you boys are going to leave." Gary's chin bobbed upward, and his voice crackled as he pushed Gilda a few steps closer to the fabric shop. "Then Gilda and I are going to get to the bottom of this right now, and there's only one person we need to find in order to get there."

  "And who might that be?" Mick asked. For some reason, his gaze flickered upward then returned to Gilda and Gary.

  "Miss Claudia," Gary said as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

  Kane shook his head. "Miss Claudia's dead, Gary. Gilda found her body in the fabric shop closet."

  "No, she's not. I told you. She's back," Gary insisted. "Robert Sullivan came back after he went over the cliff in his truck twenty years ago. What makes you think he can't pull off the same trick twice?"

  Gilda wished Mick would do more than just stand there and talk. "But back then there was proof Sullivan was never in the truck. The police didn't find a body and never stopped looking. Eventually Sullivan moved to Sandstone Cove and became Miss Claudia. A few months later his wife and kids moved away from Los Angeles then disappeared."

  Gary huffed. "Yeah, well, up until a couple days ago, I thought Miss Claudia was dead. Now I know for a fact she's back. I told you. I saw her in the middle of the road before I crashed into that tree, then again afterward when she grabbed my arm and shoved her face in mine."

  Mick and Kane appeared ready to pounce like cats until Gary hooked his arm around Gilda's neck and made sure they saw his weapon. She could disarm him, but Mick shook his head and, rather than endangering her further, both men held their hands up in front of them and backed away. It seemed an odd move considering Gary was tired and in serious pain.

  "It's okay, Gary, just don't do anything stupid," Mick said. "No one wants to see you or Gilda get hurt."

  Gary's phone chimed with yet another text, but he remained focused on Mick and Kane. "Neither do I. That's why you both need to leave now before something bad does happen."

  "We need to do what he says, mate." Kane grasped Mick's upper arm. "Gary's never steered us wrong before. We need to trust him, even if he has Gilda's life in his hands."

  Mick flared his nostrils as he glared at Gary. "I swear, if she gets hurt, I will kill you."

  Gary snorted. "Don't worry. If she gets hurt, you won't have to."

  "Be careful." Mick spoke so softly, Gilda wasn't sure she'd actually heard him. He closed his eyes and gave a small nod before Kane yanked him across the road to the Ferrari and got inside. Within seconds, Mick started the engine, drove down the street, and disappeared around the corner.

  Tears welled in Gilda's eyes. She was sure a small part of her had gone with him. Both men were fully trained in disarming people. Why hadn't they simply taken the gun away from Gary and called the police?

  Once Mick and Kane were gone, Gary steered her toward the doorway between the Healing Spirit Gift Shop and the former fabric shop. He opened the door to reveal the stairs that led up to Miss Claudia's apartment and lowered his gun. "This is where we're going to part ways. I can get to the top by myself. You need to go somewhere safe and call Fabio."

  "No." Her jaw dropped open. "You can't possibly climb those stairs alone. You could barely walk here by yourself. Did you already forget I had to get you a wheelchair to get you out of the hospital?"

  He brushed her off. "I'm fine. Just go catch up to your friends, so I can take care of business. This will all be over very soon."

  "What's really going on, Gary?" she asked. "What is it you're not telling me?"

  "Please, just go."

  "No." Gilda clenched her jaw. "Not until I know you're safe."

  He growled, then looked up and down the street before he motioned her inside. "If you're not leaving, you might as well attend the party. The door at the top should be open. I'll lead the way. At least you can cushion me if I fall down the stairs."

  Gilda's knees weakened as she closed the outer door behind them. "It wasn't Robert Sullivan dressed as Miss Claudia who caused your accident, was it? All along I thought it was Aislin, but she's just a small part of things too, isn't she?"

  Gary gave a harsh bark. "Let's get moving."

  "Who was it?" she asked. "I know you recognized the person."

  "Gilda. Stop. You wouldn't understand."

  She shook her head. "You're wrong. I'll bet someone's been blackmailing you since before Miss Claudia died. Someone who wanted Sullivan dead from the start. Was that why Adam wanted to meet with you the other day? Does he work with you now?"

  "You don't know what you're talking about." He shoved her forward up the stairs.

  "I know he was Sullivan's brother-in-law. I also know he's the only other person who's spent more time with you at the hospital than me or the police."

  Gary groaned. "Stop talking or I'll have to shoot you."

  "You wouldn't hurt me without a good reason." Gilda stood her ground. "All along, you've protected me in honor of my dad. You've become a good friend."

  Gary cleared his throat. "Stop stalling and just get up the stairs."

  "Aislin and Shawn are actually Robert and Nancy Sullivan's kids, Laurel and David, aren't they?" Gilda asked. "To be honest, I don't think Aislin is any more psychic than I am."

  "What are you trying to say?"

  "That I know who killed Miss Claudia." Gilda glanced at the gun in Gary's shaking hand. "And I know how you were involved in everything and why they're blackmailing you now."

  Several feet above them, the apartment door opened and Aislin stepped out. "Oh great, that'll make things go much faster then. Why don't you come up and enlighten us all?"

  Gary sighed. "Oh, Gilda, I really wish you'd learn to keep your big mouth shut now and then. Let's get up the stairs before they come down to get us."

  "Not until you tell me whose side you're on."

  "It doesn't matter whose side he's on." Aislin glanced back at someone else inside the apartment. "The sooner you get up here, the sooner you'll find out what'll happen to you both."

  "I'll tell you whose side Gary del Garda's on." A tall, dark-haired woman wearing a beige trench coat filled the doorway behind Aislin. She clutched a black wig. In the dim light of the stairwell, she could have passed for the deceased Miss Claudia. "He's on my side."

  "Not in this lifetime," Gary muttered as he motioned for Gilda to go ahead of him.

  This time, she met his gaze but didn't argue. She bowed her head and trudged upward with a dozen questions whirling through her head about Sullivan and his family. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, Aislin had backed up near the kitchen table and gnawed on her thumbnail.

  Gilda stopped in front of the dark-haired woman and cringed. "You're Nancy Vines."

  "Good guess." Nancy smirked. "You're not as dumb as I've heard."

  "Gee, I wonder who'd say that." Gilda glanced at Aislin, whose face reddened.

  Gary poked Gilda in the back with his gun, possibly as a reminder he was armed. "Get moving and keep your mouth shut."

  "That's pretty good advice from a dead man." Nancy closed the apartment door while holding a gun to Gary's head, but the latch didn't click shut. She ignored it and waved to Aislin. "Tie these two up."

  "Don't bother." Shawn, aka David Sullivan, lean
ed against the antique desk that stood in front of the window. The same desk Gilda had searched only days earlier. "He's got a pile of broken bones, and she works for Kane at that dumb rock shop too."

  Gilda was also a blue belt in karate. While Aislin was aware of her martial arts training, she never even batted an eye. Neither did Gary.

  "Tie them up anyway." Nancy waved her gun at Shawn.

  "Fine. I'll humor you." He rolled his eyes and groaned, then tugged a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket. Muttering under his breath, he snatched the gun out of Gary's hand then cuffed Gilda's left hand to Gary's right.

  Nancy shook her head. "That'll do for now. If either one of them tries anything stupid, they'll only hurt each other. Besides, she won't do anything to hurt the old man, and he's got a soft spot for her. You see, Gary, that's exactly why things are going to end this way. You went soft when you helped Sullivan disappear and brought the kids to Sandstone Cove to begin with."

  Gilda released a slow breath. "Oh, Gary. So that's how you knew everything."

  "Yup." Nancy folded her arms across her chest. "Your buddy Gary here orchestrated the whole thing in an attempt to get my husband and kids away from me."

  "But why?"

  Shawn raised his dark eyebrows and smirked. "You mean you haven't figured that part out yet? Gary used to work for my Grandpa Vines out in Los Angeles."

  "Shut up." Nancy scowled at him.

  "When my grandpa moved here, he brought Gary with him, while my mom took over running his West Coast business." Shawn didn't stop. "My dad being a soldier and all-around good guy, he couldn't bear to raise his kids in a crime family. He'd spent a lot of his life in the army trying to get rid of bad guys. Suddenly, he was surrounded by them right in his own home. Dude nearly lost his mind."

  Nancy stormed toward Shawn and squeezed his lower jaw in her hand, as though she could crush him at any time. "If you don't close your big mouth right this instant, I'm going to throw you out that window. Gary will be next. I'm sure we can think of something more fun for the nosy detective here."

  Gilda glanced at Aislin and lowered her voice. "You need to do something. I know you're not involved with this."

  "Sure she is." Nancy spun around and tossed Shawn on the floor like an old newspaper. His face hit the coffee table and blood oozed from his mouth. "Our little psychic is the whole reason Gary and Sullivan came up with this scheme. Laurel was always her grandpa's favorite. My father used to love me the most of all his kids. I was his little princess. Then when my daughter was born…let's just say I wasn't the only little girl he'd sneak in to visit at night."

  Gilda's heart sank.

  Gary held his head up as his face paled. "You wouldn't protect your little girl from that monster, but someone had to. Sullivan was just trying to keep her safe."

  "Which is why he was arrested at Randy's tattoo parlor and thrown in jail," Nancy said. "My father wanted to shoot him on the spot, but Randy convinced him to call the cops and let Sullivan rot in jail instead. That way none of us would end up in jail and could go about our business."

  Gilda led Gary to the couch to sit down. "So that's when you staged Sullivan's death and took his kids."

  "Exactly." He nodded. "Then Nancy came for a visit and poisoned her father, hoping to take over his business here, but he'd already made other arrangements. That's when she set out to frame Sullivan for the murder. Rather than running, Sullivan put on a dress and took on a new identity in order to hide in plain sight."

  "My father was Miss Claudia." Aislin turned to grab a tissue from the box on the table.

  Gilda nodded. "And you only figured it out at the Sandstone Cove birthday party when you did a reading for her. You didn't actually move here because of some MMA crazy boyfriend. You came to be closer to your dad."

  Aislin grabbed more tissues and sobbed.

  "Oh brother," Shawn groaned. "Get over it."

  "Great attitude," Gary said. "Considering he was your father too."

  His eyes widened. "You knew?"

  Nancy rolled her eyes. "If we're all clear on the family tree, it's time to take out the trash. I don't want to leave evidence here for the cops. I've already given them enough to play with."

  Shawn frowned. "Wait, I thought the plan was to kill Gary here and take over his business. That's why you got Adam to work with him, wasn't it?"

  "One of the things my father taught me was to keep your friends close and your enemies in the trunk." Nancy waved her gun and stuffed her wig in the pocket of her trench coat. "David, you need to go down first. The car is around back. Open the trunk and lay some tools next to a tire in case anyone gets nosy."

  "My name's not David." Shawn flared his nostrils.

  Nancy strolled toward him. "Your name is whatever I say it is. Now, go get the car ready. Your sister and I will be right down with our friends."

  He stomped his feet and headed toward the back of the apartment and opened a door Gilda thought opened to a closet. Behind the door lay stairs that led to the back alley.

  "Fine." Shawn stormed down the back stairs, cursing with each step. "I don't have to listen to you."

  "You do if you don't want your uncle Adam to teach you a lesson," Nancy called behind him. "You saw what he and I did to Kane, and that was nothing compared to what we'd do to a traitor."

  "You what?" Gilda flinched, but Gary held her back.

  Nancy smirked. "What are you going to do about it? You're as harmless as the so-called psychic over there."

  Aislin glanced up as tears streamed down her face. "I didn't ask for this. Neither did they. You need to let them go before the police find us."

  "Don't worry." Nancy waved a hand. "The only thing the police around here are good for is blackmailing. Once we leak those pictures of you and that cop, we'll have them wrapped around our fingers. It worked in L.A., and it'll work here as well." She turned to Gilda and Gary once more and smiled. "So, which one of you will die here and which will accompany me on a long car ride? I'll let you pick. I guarantee the scenery won't be worth the trip. Not for you, anyway."

  Gary, his face pale, sat on a nearby chair. "Let Gilda go. We don't need her involved in this anymore. She's just an innocent bystander."

  "Innocent?" Nancy raised her thin eyebrows and laughed. "Honey, I've worn a stupid wig and outdated coat to follow this girl around town for the past two days. She is anything but innocent. Nosy and irritating, maybe."

  Gilda closed her eyes. Nancy was the "man" dressed like Columbo.

  "She was helping take care of me," he said. "She didn't mean any harm to anyone."

  Nancy snorted, shoving her gun against Gary's broken ribs. "Do you remember what I told you after your accident? I told you it didn't matter whether you lived or died, I plan to kill you and everyone else who helped you get this far. Once I take over my father's business, heads are going to roll. Yours will only be the first."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Gilda glanced across the room at Aislin, who hugged the box of tissues and seemed to be dissolving with each new wave of tears. If the girl didn't snap out of it soon, she'd be totally useless, not to mention body number three, judging by the looks Nancy kept shooting in her direction.

  Either the fight had already drained out of Gary, or he was conserving his energy. His hand hung limp in the cuff that connected them. The color of his face had gone from pale to ashen, and if Gilda didn't do something fast, he'd probably pass out before Nancy got a chance to shoot him.

  "The car's ready," Shawn shouted up the stairs. "Get your butts out here before things get busy with delivery trucks and stuff."

  Nancy smiled. "Time to put your game face on, Laurel. You're either going to help me get these two outside or you're staying here as evidence."

  Aislin's eyes widened. "You'd kill me? But I'm your daughter."

  "So?" Nancy shrugged. "I've killed family before, sweetheart. Shooting you in the head would be just one more stone in my road."

  Gary bowed his head, and a strin
g of drool leaked from his lips.

  "Are you okay?" Gilda nudged him.

  When he didn't reply, her heart raced, and she began to panic. She cleared her throat. "I think we need to get Gary some medical assistance. He looks like he just had a stroke."

  Nancy chuckled. "Right. Good one. Get him up. We're going to the car."

  Gilda wanted to put her arm around Gary to help him, but with her left hand cuffed to his right, that wasn't going to work. "Aislin, I need help. We're handcuffed together, and there's no way I can get him to his feet alone."

  Aislin wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve. "Huh?"

  "Help me get Gary up."

  "Okay." Aislin nodded and walked across the room toward them, tossing the tissue box on the floor. "What do you want me to do?"

  Gilda got up and walked around in front of Gary so his right arm crossed his stomach. She tucked her arm under his shoulder and indicated to Aislin where to put her arm and how to lift him.

  Once they had him on his feet, Nancy applauded. "Good show. Now let's see you get him down the stairs."

  Gilda muttered. "If I wasn't handcuffed, I'd…"

  "You wouldn't do anything," Aislin whispered. "She'd shoot us all."

  "Move it." Nancy poked Gilda with her gun and peered down the stairs. "David, we're coming down. Get ready with the chloroform."

  Gilda glanced back at her. "If you use chloroform on Gary, you'll kill him."

  "That's the plan," Nancy said.

  Aislin met Gilda's gaze. "Please be quiet."

  Gilda took the first step down the stairs. Standing sideways, she pulled Gary down and let him fall against her. "But then you won't have the pleasure of looking into his eyes when you kill him."

  "Hm." Nancy fell silent then cackled. "Good point. There's hope for you yet. Maybe I'll toss Aislin in the trunk and let you ride up front with me."

  Outside a trash can banged as if someone had kicked it over.

  "Stop," Nancy shouted. "David? What's happening out there?"