by Nan Sampson
“Look at the sun.” She repeated what Artie had told her in her meditation. And smiled. “You idiot. Not sun. Son!” She reached for her cell phone, knocked it onto the floor then nearly fell out of bed trying to grab for it. After a struggle with the IV and her arm sling, she managed to snag it, then punched in the speed dial she’d created for Gruetzmacher.
It went straight to voicemail – maybe he was on another call. “Bill, it’s Ellie. I know who killed Artie, and Lu.” She sucked in a breath, sure in her gut now that she was right. “It was Todd. Todd Hertz.”
She ended the call, then climbed carefully out of bed. She wanted to go see Patti, and now that she didn’t have the pain meds making her woozy, she felt almost steady as she got her feet under her. Using the tray table, she took a few exploratory steps. Even if Patti was still out of it, she wanted to see her with her own eyes, see her breathing. Maybe she could send some healing energy to her, help her make her way back from that cozy dark place she was nestling in.
Expecting the nurses to squawk that she was out of bed, she opened the door to the hall slowly and quietly, taking a peek through the crack first. The small nurse’s station was empty. She’d only seen two different nurses, Pat and the one she hadn’t recognized, but she remembered from her first visit to the clinic that they were understaffed. Still, it seemed odd that neither of them were around. There was an alarm ringing at the nurse’s station. Maybe they were both off taking care of some kind of emergency.
A quick look told her there were only six patient rooms, three on each side of the station. Ellie’s room was in the middle on the left. The only other room that appeared to be occupied was directly across the hall – the middle room on the right. That must be where Patti was.
Moving slowly, she wheeled her IV stand across the tiled floor as quietly as she could, using it in part as a support. She was less steady than she had originally thought, but it wasn’t far, and she figured she could always sit down when she got there if she needed to. When she reached the room she assumed was Patti’s, she paused, sensing that someone else was in the room, although she couldn’t see anyone from her position to the right of the door. The head of the bed had to be against the right wall, a mirror of her own room. She paused, listening for nurse type noises, but heard nothing.
Maybe she was just imaging things. There was no noise whatsoever coming from the room, although she could see the end of the hospital bed and what had to be the outline of Patti’s lower legs under the thin white hospital blanket. Glancing around, she saw no sign of either of the nurses so now was her chance.
Pushing the IV stand before her, she moved gingerly into the room, not knowing what to expect.
“You!” She gave a little gasp and stumbled. Todd Hertz stood at the head of the bed, pressing a pillow across Patti’s face. Patti lay motionless, and Ellie felt sick, hoping against hope that the woman was merely unconscious. “You bastard! Get off her!” She moved towards him, stumbling on the IV stand.
Todd looked up, but didn’t move. “How true. But don’t worry, she won’t feel a thing, the stupid busybody.”
He lifted up the pillow, put his hand in front of Patti’s mouth, then smiled. “There. All better. Now for you.”
Ellie’s hind brain finally kicked into gear as Todd lunged for her. She back-pedaled, caught her hip on the door jamb, fell backward and landed on the hard tile floor. Panicked, she crabbed backwards as Todd grabbed hold of the IV stand and tossed it behind him. The needle jerked out of her arm and blood spattered across her and the floor.
Todd still had the pillow. Dropping to his knees, he straddled her body then jammed the pillow down over her face. Her right arm, in the cast, was virtually useless, but she clawed and scratched him with her left, trying to find his face or some exposed skin, trying to pull the pillow aside. Her bandaged finger screamed with pain, but she ignored it, fighting with all her might.
He knelt on her thighs, pinning her to the floor, then tossed the pillow aside and wrapped his fingers around her throat. She gasped, trying to draw in air, but couldn’t. How long did it take to suffocate? Her lungs began to burn. Remembering a trick from her self-defense class, she grabbed hold of his middle finger and pried it backward. He screeched, loosening his hold. For a brief second she could breathe.
“You bitch!”
She gulped air and tried to throw him off, but she didn’t have the strength. He wrapped his hands around her throat again and put his full weight behind the chokehold, keeping his fingers together now so she couldn’t get hold of just one. With her air cut off, her energy flagged. Her good arm grew weak, then numb, as though it had been disconnected from her body. Her ears started to buzz and her vision grew black around the edges.
Damn it, this was not how this was supposed to end. Was this what her mother had felt as she lay on her kitchen floor, beaten, bruised, sensing the life bleeding out of her? Anger, frustration, the knowledge that there was still so much left undone?
Gradually she became aware of a sound, a voice she knew, seemingly from far away. Maybe calling her name? Then there was a sickening crack and the heavy weight that pinned her down lifted then crashed down on her again.
Her throat opened and she sucked in a cool rush of air. It was the sweetest sensation she’d ever known. She still couldn’t move, but she didn’t care. She was content in that moment simply to breathe.
Then she remembered. “Patti. He smothered Patti.” She struggled to get up, found she still couldn’t move. Todd was still lying across her, although he wasn’t moving.
She looked up, found Charlie kneeling beside her, face pale, hands shaking as he shoved Todd’s unmoving form onto the tile and tossed aside the service revolver he’d used to bash Todd in the head. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, struggled to speak, though her throat ached. “Patti…”
He glanced up and through the doorway to Patti’s room. “The doctor’s with her. We need to get you back to your room.” He scooped her up in his arms and with a strength she didn’t realize he had, he carried her across the hall to her room.
Chapter 45
Charlie deposited her in bed, then grabbed a wash cloth from the bathroom and pressed it against the back of her hand, where the IV needle had been ripped out. She was still bleeding, although it was more nuisance than anything else.
Charlie’s color was returning. “Jesus wept, Gooden.” His voice trembled. “I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes without you pissing someone off and having them try to kill you. What the hell would you do without me?”
“He tried to smother Patti.” She couldn’t get the image out of her head. “Is she alive?”
He glanced behind him, then back at her. “If she is, it’s because of you. I was with Bill when he got your message. We were at Todd’s mother’s house. Apparently the berries that were used to create the poison grow in her backyard.”
“Why would he want to kill Patti? And how did you know to come here?”
“About Patti, I don’t know. As for coming here, we were just following the trail. One of the neighbors said Todd was seen loading his mother into his car, like she was ill. We figured he might be bringing her here.”
From the doorway, Bill Gruetzmacher cleared his throat. “How are we doing here?”
Charlie stepped away from the bed, shoved hands that still shook into the pockets of his jeans. “Pretty good, all things considered.”
A look passed between the two men, one Ellie couldn’t decipher. Solidarity maybe, and something akin to gratitude. “How’s Patti?”
“She’ll be okay. Doc says she probably wasn’t dead yet when Todd left her to come after you. You saved her life.”
“If I hadn’t come to town, her life might not have been in danger.” She shook her head. “Is Todd…”
Gruetzmacher frowned. “He’ll live.” The police chief looked at Charlie. “Fractured skull, and I hope he wakes up with the mother of all headaches. Nice one, McCallum, but you might have dent
ed your service weapon.”
McCallum just shrugged. “It’s about time I did something useful with it. How’s the Hertz woman?”
Bill shook his head and Ellie watched unspoken information pass between then.
“Wait, what’s happened to her?”
“Same poison. Same delivery method. A piece of pie. Blueberry, just like what was found in Louisa Cullen’s system. Todd must have driven her here then rung the emergency bell outside. When Doc and the nurses went out to help her, they found her alone in the driver’s seat, as though she’d driven herself here. She was already not breathing so they dragged her out of the car and started emergency treatment right there on the pavement. That must have been when Todd snuck in.” Gruetzmacher rubbed at his face. “There was a note on the passenger seat of the car. A sort of suicide note allegedly written by Jeanne, confessing to the murders, saying how she hated Artie for ruining her life and she wanted her revenge before Artie left for New Mexico.”
Ellie shook her head. “And we would have believed it too.”
“Possibly.” Gruetzmacher didn’t look too certain. “There were things that didn’t add up though. For instance, Jeanne didn’t have access to your shop. But Louisa did. She had keys. We found them in her purse. And since she obviously wasn’t the killer, someone she knew well must have had access to those keys.”
Ellie nodded. “Todd.” She gratefully took the glass of water McCallum appeared with, took a sip. “But why? Had he finally found out that Artie was his father?”
“I’ll be asking that, when he comes to. But from what I’ve been able to piece together, he’s known about that for some time. No, I think it was the sale of the shop that pushed him over the edge. He believed he was supposed to inherit it.”
“But I thought Lu thought she was supposed to get it.”
“Artie was a sneaky bastard. He might have promised it to both of them. I do know that Artie left most of his money to Todd, although I’m sure he didn’t think Todd would come into it quite so quickly. Todd was even a witness to the will, so he knew about it. Stands to reason that meant he knew why Artie was making him the beneficiary.”
“So he was mad that Artie chose to leave the shop to Lu?”
“But he didn’t do that, did he? He up and sold it to you. Making not only Todd mad, but Lu mad as well. Your shop is prime real estate, Ellie. I think Todd took up again with Lu because he thought if he got her to marry him, he’d not only get Artie’s money but the shop too. And then Artie double-crossed both of them and sold the shop to you.”
She couldn’t quite process that. “But if he knew Artie was his father then he knew Lu was his half-sister. And they were sleeping together.” She wasn’t a prude, but that was just so wrong. Especially since Lu probably didn’t know.
Gruetzmacher didn’t look shocked. “Takes all kinds, Ellie.”
“Then what about Per’s llama? And the cow manure in the shop?”
“While I hate admitting I was wrong, you were probably right that it was Lu. And I think she was the one who cancelled your reservation, and ran that woman off the road. Probably egged on by Todd. Bella’s niece said that the woman who called to cancel your reservation sounded like Patti Mough. And Lu’s voice does sound a little bit like Patti’s.”
Other than when the girl screamed at her, Ellie hadn’t had a chance to hear Lu talk much, so she wouldn’t know about that. Then the other thing that Gruetzmacher said registered. “Wait. Ran what woman off the road?”
“Remember that day I found you in Memorial Park? And I asked you about the kind of car you drove?”
Ellie thought back, suddenly recalling the accident Gruetzmacher had mentioned. “You think she ran that woman off the road and killed her? Because she thought it was me?”
“I don’t think she really meant to kill her. But I think she wanted to scare her for sure. Unfortunately, that hill is steep and the car was small. I think she figured if you got scared off and left, then she could buy the shop back from you, and probably at a fraction of what you bought it for, if you were running scared. And I’d be willing to bet Todd put the idea in her head. The evidence from that accident is still at the crime labs in Madison, but I’m almost positive the scrapings taken from the car will match Lu’s vehicle.”
“But if you knew she was responsible, why didn’t you arrest her? She might still be alive…”
One look at Gruetzmacher’s face and Ellie immediately regretted what she’d said. “I can’t just arrest people because I have a hunch they’re guilty, Ms. Gooden. I need proof. And until that proof came back from the crime lab, I had nothing to hold her on that would stand up in court. For that matter, it’s the same reason I didn’t arrest you, even though I found those berries in your cabin.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
He blew out air, gave her a forgiving smile. “I know.”
Charlie took the cup of water from her shaking hand. “Well, now at least it makes sense then.”
Ellie and Gruetzmacher stared at him and Ellie had to ask. “What makes sense?”
“The tar and feathering. That was a punishment doled out to thieves and tax men, as I recall. Apparently Todd considered his father a thief for cheating him out of the shop.”
Ellie stared at McCallum. “But I thought it was about the adultery.”
Charlie chuckled. “Nah. From a historical perspective, our uber-religious forefathers would have put adulterers in the stocks. Although, really, few cared about what men did in regards to illicit sex. It was mostly women who were punished for adultery.” He looked at both of them. “Scarlett Letter, anyone?”
The Chief adjusted his hat, cleared his throat. “Well, we’ll know more once I get Todd into interview. I’m just glad it’s over.”
So was Ellie. “Thank you. Thank you both.” She didn’t know what else to say.
Gruetzmacher tipped his hat back and rocked back on his heels in a very cop sort of stance. “It was Charlie here that saved the day – I was mostly back-up. But as I keep saying, it’s what they pay me for. I just hope that in the future, you won’t make me work so hard for that pay.”
Her stomach soured, as she thought about that. “I don’t think you have to worry, Chief. I think the universe has been trying to tell me something since the moment I drove into town. It’s about time I listened up.”
Charlie cocked his head at her. “So what’s the message?”
She looked from one man to the other as they exchanged another glance. Had Charlie smirked?
She gave both men a scowl. Her mind was made up, no matter what anyone else might say. “That it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge.”
Chapter 46
She spent one more frustrating and tedious day in the hospital before the doctor would agree to release her. Sunday morning dawned and it was painfully clear that her grand opening was not going to happen. Breakfast and lunch both came and went and everything she ate tasted like ashes. Her failure was all she could think of. Worse was realizing how galling it was going to be to have to crawl back to the city and beg for her old job. Jeff was too good a friend to say ‘I told you so’, but he’d be thinking it. She supposed she could try to find a position at a different company, but it would have to be fast, because it would take time to sell the shop and she’d need the cash to find a new place to live and so on and so on. It was all a mess, made even more angst-ridden after the sweet and well-meaning pep talk Patti had given her the day before, shortly before Earl had come to spring her.
“You have to stay,” Patti had told her. “Who on earth will eat my apple pies if you don’t?”
Ellie managed a smile, but couldn’t muster up much of anything else. “Thanks, Patti.”
Patti had squeezed her hand then teared up. “Oh, Ellie I’m so sorry. I feel like this is all my fault. If only I’d told you and Bella the truth.”
“About what?”
“The morning Artie was killed, Lu was at the house. She was looking for something
and she dumped her whole purse on my kitchen table. When I asked her what, she said she couldn’t find her keys. I said, what keys, and she said the keys to the diner. Said there was stuff her father had wanted her to get out of there before you took final possession.” Patti brushed at her cheeks. “Well, that didn’t make any sense - you’d been renovating in there for weeks. But then she piled everything back into her purse and said something like, ‘Oh, I must have left them at’ and then she said a name and at first I thought she said Todd’s but I knew that couldn’t be right, so I asked “who” and she ‘Tom’s’, then said it was a friend from school. In my heart I knew she was lying. I knew she meant Todd, but I just didn’t want to believe it. So I didn’t say anything. Then when Artie was killed… I just knew it wasn’t Lu who killed him, and if I told anybody about the keys, then everyone was going to assume the same thing you did. Oh, Ellie, she’d already been through so much. I never in a million years thought that either she or Todd could have been responsible. Then, when she told Bill that she was with Todd the day your shop was vandalized…”
“She wasn’t?”
“No. He was at the church, helping his mother with the floral displays almost all afternoon. So I knew she was lying. Which meant that Todd had lied too.”
“That’s what you called to tell me last night.”
“Yes. But I still didn’t really believe. Even when Todd stopped by last night, with the pies from the church raffle, I couldn’t believe it. He was always such a kind young man. Good to his mother.” Her voice broke. “I thought he was being so nice – serving me a piece, fetching a glass of milk for me…”
Ellie squeezed Patti’s hand ineffectually. “I’m sorry, Patti. I really am.”
“Well.” The woman brushed her tears away. “I’m just thankful you’re all right. I can’t thank you enough for saving my life.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I feel like if I hadn’t come to town, none of this might have happened.”