“Okay. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Laying his jacket on the bed, she hurried into the bathroom. The light above the mirror showed five inflamed scratches that went from her shoulder to her elbow on each arm. Hastily, she ran a cotton ball dipped in alcohol across them, wincing against the sting. Then after blowing them dry, she put some concealer and foundation over them. The foundation didn’t hide them as well as she had hoped, but at least they didn’t show up like red Christmas lights.
She repaired the damage the tears had done to her make-up, took a couple of aspirin to steady her nerves, then taking a deep breath she walked through the bedroom and pulled open the door. Mitch was waiting for her at the top of the stairs.
“Doug just brought Deidre back. She looks like hell. She must have tried to claw him like she did you. There are red marks on his face. I’ll bet she has bruises on her arms tomorrow but she hasn’t said anything, and Doug is keeping her really close, like under his arm. I don’t think he’s going to let her go anywhere tonight. I wouldn’t if I were him.”
She handed him his jacket. “Thanks.”
“I’m a little curious why you went outside with that creep. You knew he had the ‘hots’ for you.”
“Well, I didn’t know he’d react like that, but I wanted to see if I could get him to talk.”
“Suzette, that’s the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard. That’s as bad as those dumb heroines in romance mysteries that wander off with the killer.” His voice was hard and angry.
“Gee, thanks. I didn’t think I was that stupid. I’ll try not to disappoint you again.”
He took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just want you to be careful and try not to get yourself killed.”
“Mitch, I’m here to do a job,” she said gently. “I know that I don’t rate as a professional to you, Mike and Verlynn, but I am. I’ll do whatever is necessary to find out what I need to know. There are lives at stake here. I can’t worry about a slight contretemps with a slime ball.”
Mitch heaved a sigh. “Okay, but for the record I do consider you a professional and professionals learn how to take care of themselves. If they can’t, they call for back-up.”
“I wasn’t in over my head. If Deidre hadn’t attacked when she did, I would have gotten out of the mess. I was just getting ready to stamp on his instep and if that hadn’t worked, I would have screamed loud and clear.” She looked at Mitch who was standing a few steps below her. “I did learn a couple of things, though.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Good! What?”
“Doug said he was driving to Washington, D. C. that night. He said his flight had been cancelled at the last minute because of mechanical problems and that he had to be there the next day at eight in the morning so he drove all night. He also said that Derek and Deidre went for a midnight swim. But I think he lied.”
“Why?”
“He was holding my hand when he said that he was driving to Washington, D. C. His fingers flinched. My reading of his body language tells me that he was lying.”
“That’s easy to check.” He pulled out his miniature cell phone.
Suzette leaned over, hiding the hand with the cell phone, and kissed Mitch, long and hard. His free hand came up around her shoulders. Her arms went around his neck.
As their lips parted, a very angry Doug stomped up the stairs, pushing Deidre ahead of him. His hand gripped her arm so tightly that the flesh around his fingers bulged. Her gold dress was torn diagonally across her breasts. She had bruises on her wrists and what looked like a hand print on her cheek. There were red marks across her bare back. It looked like Doug had beat her.
She glared at Suzette as she brushed by. Her whisper was barely audible as she hissed, “You’ll pay for this, big time.”
Mitch squeezed Suzette’s hand. “Don’t worry about her. Just stay close.”
“I just hope she cools down before tomorrow. We’re staying in the same house. She might not be able to hurt me physically, but she could make life miserable.”
After dinner, Mitch and Suzette had just finished a tango and were heading for the terrace to cool off when they were joined by Mike and Verlynn. Mike nodded toward the edge of the terrace. Silently, Mitch led the way to a corner sheltered by the house.
Suzette said, “Okay, Mike, what’s going on? I pretended that I didn’t know you like you asked me to, but now I want to know what’s going on. You’re supposed to be in San Francisco with your partner, my ex-boyfriend, Justin.” Her tone was bitter.
“Easy, Suz,” Mike whispered. “First of all, Cordelia wasn’t pretending. I’ve never met her. I talked to her on the phone a couple of times when she called for Justin, but that’s all.” He looked around. “Secondly, Justin has disappeared.”
“So, what else is new? He’s always disappearing.”
“Suzette,” Mike said sternly. “Drop the bitterness. Justin was supposed to be coming here, but he didn’t make it. Cordelia called him before she called Jeremy. He took an emergency leave of absence the day after the fire. He was supposed to be back to work last week. He didn’t come back and Cordelia told me over the phone that he didn’t show up here. That’s why I’m here.”
“Whoa! This isn’t making any sense,” Suzette snapped. “Start from the beginning. Why would Cordelia call Justin before she called Jeremy?”
Mike looked at her surprised. “Didn’t Jeremy tell you?”
“Mike, I’m rapidly losing my temper. I do not know what you are talking about.”
Mike swallowed, “Justin is Jeremy’s older half-brother. Jeanette married Justin’s father who was in the army. He was killed when Justin was about 2 years old.”
“What?” Suzette exclaimed. “If that’s true, why didn’t Jeremy tell me?”
“Justin and Jeremy had a falling out several years ago. Justin went into law enforcement in San Francisco to get away from his mother. When Jeremy decided that he couldn’t stand his mother any longer, he came to San Francisco. Justin’s first homicide case was a media circus. It was a big businessman who killed his wife. His parents hired Jeremy’s firm and the case was handed to him. He didn’t tell his bosses that there was a conflict of interest. The guy walked on a technicality that wasn’t really a technicality. Justin has never forgiven Jeremy. They haven’t spoken for ten years.”
“Then why didn’t Cordelia tell me that one of her nephews hadn’t shown up?” She shook her head in discouragement. “This case has really gotten out of hand.”
Mitch said, “You’d better put all of this on the back burner for right now. We need to concentrate on what’s going down here and now.” He looked around
Scarcely above a whisper, Mike said, “See anything strange?”
“No, but my gut is doing somersaults. Something is going to happen. I can feel it,” Verlynn said softly.
Mike nodded, “I know. I can feel the tension.” He looked around. “It seems to be centered on Deidre. She’s all strung up. She keeps looking over here.”
Verlynn said, “She’s staring at Suzette. You can tell because her face hardens as her eyes follow Suzette around the room. There’s a lot of hatred there.”
Suzette looked at Verlynn. “She has no reason to hate me.”
Verlynn shook her head. “Reason doesn’t enter into it. From what Mitch said, she disliked you on sight.” She looked toward Deidre, who was talking to Derek in whispers. They kept looking over at the group standing on the terrace. Verlynn continued, “watch your back, girl. She doesn’t have teeth, she has fangs, and poisonous ones at that. And she’s involved in whatever is going to happen. I’d stake my next promotion on that.”
Mike said, “We’d better go back in. We don’t want to attract attention.”
As they walked back into the living room, Deidre glided up to Mitch. She had changed into another dress. She was now wearing a very sheer red chiffon dress that was cut low in front. It came up in the back to form a collar around her neck that was closed with a big diamond pin. The big, very full
sleeves were caught in diamond encircled cuffs. “Mitch, darling, come dance with me.”
Pleasantly, Mitch shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m happy where I am.”
“Oh come on, sweetheart, you don’t have to let her hang on you all evening. It’s okay to circulate.”
“No, thank you,” Mitch said, not quite so pleasantly.
“Come on, man, Suzette can dance with me while you dance with Deidre.” Derek ran his hand over his balding head.
“No, thank you,” Mitch and Suzette said together.
Derek’s face turned dark red with anger. “Deidre was right, you do think you are too good for the rest of us.”
“Nonsense,” Mitch said. “We just haven’t seen each other for a long time.”
“Yea, right,” Derek snarled. He turned on Suzette. “You come here, throwing your weight around, trying to prove that you’re better than everyone else, causing one problem after another, making us all suspicious of each other, asking questions–you--”
“Ease up, man. Suzette’s here to help your aunt. Your cousin asked her to come.” Mike said calmly. Abruptly, Derek swung at him, shouting furiously, “Go to hell!”
Chapter 16
As Mike ducked, Mitch pulled Suzette away, his arms pinning hers. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and Derek fell back against the door, his hand clutched to his chest, blood spurting between his fingers.
“She shot him,” Deidre shrieked. “She shot him!” Hysterically, she pointed at the floor. The gun was right next to where Suzette had been standing. “Someone call the police!” She began screaming at the top of her lungs. “She killed him! She killed him! He’s going to die!”
“All right.” Mike yelled. “I’m a cop. Everyone stay put. Cordelia, go call an ambulance and the police.” He looked at Deidre, who was still screaming shrilly. “Will someone shut her up?”
“Gladly,” Hallie said, as she walked up to Deidre. She slapped her so hard that the print of her hand burned red against the white of her face. It matched the print on the other cheek. The screaming stopped immediately.
Deidre glared as she doubled up her fists, “I’ll get you for that.”
Doug walked over and put his arm around Deidre. “Easy, babe,” he said gently. He looked down at his mother, who had grabbed Derek in her arms before he could collapse on the floor. “Mother, he’d be better off lying down.”
As Mike and Mitch eased Derek to the floor, Mike looked over his shoulder. “Mr. Lin, will you please control your daughter, unless you want her to spend the night in jail for obstructing justice.”
Mitch said, “Someone hand me something to stop the bleeding.”
Pushing Deidre into her father’s arms, Doug dropped to his knees. He shoved Mitch away. “I’ll do it. Keep your hands off him. For all I know, you had something to do with the shooting.” He looked up at the crowd. “Get me something to stop the bleeding, now,” he snapped, his voice harsh and demanding.
Lin put his arm around his daughter and led her to the buffet, where he handed her a small whiskey. “Drink this and get control of yourself,” he snapped, then he poured one for himself. “This was not supposed to happen.” He said quietly to himself.
Ignoring Doug’s comments, Mitch pulled open Derek’s dinner jacket and his shirt, baring his chest. The blood wasn’t spurting, but it was running in a thick stream that disappeared under his arm. “The blood isn’t gushing so, I don’t think the bullet hit an artery and the hole looks too high for his heart. If we can get an ambulance here quickly, I think he’ll make it.”
Someone pushed something white into Doug’s hand. Quickly, he pressed a clean napkin against the wound. Almost instantly the napkin was red. “Get me something bigger, a towel or a tablecloth,” he snapped.
A few seconds later, the paramedics ran into the room. Quickly, they began working on Derek. Under their efficient hands, the blood flow slowed. After a few minutes, they said, “He’s as stable as we’re going to get him until the doc gets the bullet out. We need to get him to the hospital, now, before we lose him.” They tied an absorbent pad over the bloody napkin, then they loaded him on the stretcher, tying his arm across his chest.
White and shaking, Dorothea whispered, “I’m going with him.” She followed the stretcher out to the ambulance. Doug followed her, helping her climb in the front, then he climbed in the back. The ambulance raced down the driveway, its lights flashing and its sirens wailing.
It was quiet for only a few moments. Then there was the whine of sirens, the flash of red lights and Sheriff Miner was in the room barking orders and snapping at his subordinates.
“You,” he said pointing at Mike, “Since you claim to be a cop, you tell me what happened.”
Suzette glanced over at Mike. She saw the clamped jaw, hard eyes and white knuckles, infinitesimal signs that he was more than irritated. Mike was furiously angry and she’d never seen Mike get angry no matter what the provocation. It wasn’t in his code. In a monotone voice, he quickly told what happened.
“What did you leave out?” Miner snapped rudely.
“Sir, I am not in the habit of leaving anything out when I am making a report.”
“You didn’t say anything about her,” Sheriff Miner said, pointing at Suzette. “I can’t believe that she didn’t have anything to do with it.”
One of Miner’s Scene of the Crime technicians picked up the gun with a metal instrument that had a hook on the end. “It’s been fired recently,” he announced as he smelled it. Pulling a magnifying lens out of his pocket, he squinted at the barrel. “A clumsy attempt has been made to file off the identifying number, but there is still enough left that I can read the numbers.”
“Run the numbers on the computer. When we find out who owns the gun we’ll know who the perp was.”
Deidre set her whisky glass down, pulled away from her father and marched over to Miner. “She did it. She refused to dance with Derek, then she egged him until he got angry. He swung at that Indian and she shot him.”
“W-W-What?” Suzette stuttered. “Are you crazy?”
Miner turned to Suzette, “Is that true? Where were you when the gun was fired?”
“She was standing right there. Right where the gun was,” Deidre yelled. “Arrest her right now.”
The tech tapped Miner’s arm. “The gun was registered to a Suzette Bishop.”
“That’s it,” he said as he pulled the handcuffs from the back of his belt. As he stepped toward Suzette, she said, “You’ll have to arrest me before you put those cuffs on me and you can be damn sure that I will file a false arrest suit with my attorney first thing in the morning.”
“Suzette Bishop, I am placing you under arrest for the attempted murder of Derek Duncan.” He grabbed her wrist and roughly twisted her arms behind her, putting the cuffs around her wrists. Quickly, he read her the Miranda warning.
Suzette said, “I stand mute. I will not say another word without my attorney present.”
“Wait just a minute,” Mitch said, “Aren’t you being a little hasty? Deidre has had it in for Suzette since she walked into the house. She attacked her on the terrace tonight because Suzette was talking to Doug. She is more than a little jealous of Suzette. However, I think there’s more–there’s something else behind her accusation–something she knows but isn’t telling. I’m even wondering if she isn’t mixed up in this somehow.”
Deidre turned white and began stuttering. “I’m n-n-not j-jealous and I’m not mixed up in anything. She just causes everyone problems.” She turned on Miner. “How come you’re letting him talk to me this way? I’m a witness, not a perp.”
Ignoring her, Mitch added, “You haven’t even asked me what happened nor have you interviewed the rest of the witnesses. You haven’t asked Suzette when she last saw the gun. You’re setting yourself and your department up for a huge lawsuit and I don’t think your county authorities will be very happy about that.”
“She can sue if she wants to, but that won’t stop me
from doing my duty.”
“Sir,” the tech said. Miner ignored him.
Cordelia shoved past Deidre, “Then do your duty and conduct a decent investigation, if you even know how. Because if you don’t, when I get through with you, you’ll be thankful to be asked to resign instead of being fired.”
“You can’t fire an elected official.”
“Think again, you can for malfeasance in office. And if this isn’t malfeasance then I don’t know the meaning of the word.”
“Sir.” The tech raised his voice.
“Not now, Bailey. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“But sir,”
“Bailey, will you shut up.” Bailey glared sullenly at Miner’s back.
Without removing the cuffs, Miner turned to Mitch Scott, “Okay, then,” he sneered, “Say whatever you’ve got to say.”
Mitch Scott said, “Suzette and I had been talking to Mike and Verlynn. Derek and Deidre came over to us. It looked to me like they were planning on causing trouble. Deidre asked me to dance. I said no, politely. She asked again, and again, I said no, a little less politely. Then Derek said that he would dance with Suzette, which would let me dance with Deidre. We both said no at the same time. Derek got really angry, and for some reason he swung at Rainwater, who had tried to calm Derek down. As he swung, there was a shot and he staggered back against the door jam. As soon as I heard the shot, I swung Suzette away from the door. I thought the attack was aimed at her.”
He looked down at Miner. “Sheriff, I had my arm around her waist and my hand on her arm. There was no way that she could have fired the shot without me knowing it. Besides that, where did she get the gun? Look at her dress. There is no way she could have hidden a gun that size without a huge bulge showing. And believe me, I would have noticed something like that even if I hadn’t felt it when we were dancing.”
Sun, Sand and Murder: A Suzette Bishop Mystery (Suzette Bishop Mysteries Book 3) Page 10