by V. M. Burns
“Illegal drugs?” I shook my head. “No. I don’t believe Albert would have been involved in smuggling drugs. He may be guilty of a lot of things, but I would stake my life that drug smuggling isn’t one of them.”
“I hope you’re right,” Officer Harrison said. “Your life and your freedom may very well be what are at stake.”
CHAPTER 13
Bambi had filed a police report for the car, but the police didn’t hold out much luck they’d be able to find it, at least not in one piece. We sat and talked, and Officer Harrison admonished us again to leave the actual investigating to the police. After he left, David dressed for his night out at the Purple Panther.
I had mixed feelings about sending my son to a strip club. Part of me cringed at the thought of him in a sleazy dive like that. Another part of me balked at the exploitation of women. Still another part of me tried not to be judgmental. I’d read a book about a woman who was a college student by day and danced at an exotic nightclub at night. She said stripping empowered her and provided a decent income. David was an adult and so was Bambi. I prayed the other girls performing were all old enough to know what they were doing and pushed the hesitations down.
Stephanie said she had some paperwork she needed to do for a case and went to her room to work.
Dixie took all the dogs out while I unloaded the dishwasher. When she came back in, I was sitting at the table with coffee and the last two slices of cheesecake.
“I thought we’d finished that off.” She sat down, picked up her fork and took a mouthful of the creamy goodness.
“Stephanie bought two.” I took a bite of cheesecake and allowed the heavenly sweetness to dissolve on my tongue. “That’s my girl.”
We enjoyed our cheesecake and coffee in silence and then sat back, uncomfortably stuffed.
“You know, when I took the dogs outside, I started thinking about the lights. Your neighbor’s house is the only one with no lights on. That’s a…”
I zoned out and didn’t hear anything else Dixie said. Something she’d said triggered the memory I’d been trying to grasp for days, but this time, I caught it before it escaped.
“Earth to Lilly?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’ve remembered something.” She looked at me expectantly.
“Remember the night before the funeral when we were on the interstate?”
“How could I forget?”
“Before we got pulled over, I noticed lights on at the dealership.” I stared at her.
She looked as though she was waiting for the punch line. “And?”
“It was past midnight. There’s no reason anyone should have been in the dealership that late at night. The cleaning staff would have been long gone by then.”
“Who do you think it was?”
I shook my head. “In all of the excitement, I forgot about it until you mentioned lights.”
“Do you think we should call Officer Harrison?” She looked at her watch.
I paused. “I don’t know. I don’t want to call the police because someone simply forgot to turn off the lights before they left. Given everything that has happened, it would be understandable.”
“Do you remember seeing the lights on when we passed on the way?” she asked.
I thought back and shook my head. “No. I’m almost positive the lights weren’t on when we passed the first time. We passed right by the dealership to get on the interstate. I would have noticed the lights. But they were definitely on when we were coming back from the casino.”
“I think you should tell Officer Harrison,” Dixie said.
I thought for several minutes.
“I don’t like that look in your eyes,” Dixie said.
“You don’t have to come.”
“Lilly Anne Echosby, if you think I’m about to let you run off in the middle of the night to confront a murderer without me, you’ve lost your marbles.” She put her hands on her hips.
I hugged her. “Well, I hopefully won’t be confronting anyone. I thought maybe we could do a little stakeout.”
“Oh, like on television?” Dixie asked with more enthusiasm than I felt was good for her. “Should we change into black and put makeup under our eyes?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
We prepared to head out for our first stakeout. I was nervous and excited. I had no plans to confront a killer. My idea was to park across the street from the dealership, well away from any danger. If I saw someone pull into the dealership, then I would phone the police. When I saw Dixie checking her gun before she put it into a backpack, I wondered if we had the same ideas about what would be involved in this stakeout.
I drove through a drive-thru and got two large coffees and then headed toward Albert’s car dealership. There weren’t a lot of businesses on the road in front of the dealership, but I was familiar with the area. The main road that led past the dealership, Highway 2, was fairly deserted, but there was another road that ran behind the building. It included an area where commuters met to carpool. There were always several cars there and one more wouldn’t draw undue attention. Of course, the SUV was probably the only thing that wouldn’t draw attention. Dixie and I and three poodles sitting in an SUV were an entirely different matter. Chyna stuck her head between the seat and her tongue in my ear.
I shuddered. “Remind me again why we needed to bring the dogs?”
“For protection; these are well trained dogs and, while they’re not attack dogs, they will defend us.” Dixie patted Chyna’s head and shoved her to the backseat.
The area wasn’t well lit, but there was one streetlight and I parked near enough so we could benefit from the light, without broadcasting to all passing motorists, and possible murderers, we were sitting in the car.
Once we were parked, the wait began.
“How long do you think we’ll need to sit here?” Dixie asked.
“I have no idea. I’m not even sure if anyone will come. It was closer to three when we saw the lights before, but there’s no telling if the person comes every night or if that was a one-time thing.”
“Alright, Debbie Downer, you sure know how to throw cold water on a flame,” Dixie joked.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to set your expectations too high.”
“Mission accomplished. I will expect the most dull, boring time ever.” She laughed. “Want some snacks?” She pulled her backpack from the floor.
“What do you have in that thing?”
She rummaged. “Peanut butter crackers, fruit.” She pulled out a banana. “Bottled water, a dog bowl, dog T-R-E-A-T-S.”
I had seen the power of that one word with those dogs and knew she was in danger if they ever learned to spell.
“Candy bars, crackers, a summer sausage, and toilet paper.” She held up the roll.
“Seriously? We aren’t going into the wild. If one of us has to go to the bathroom, we’ll just drive to a gas station.”
“Well, it’s my first stakeout, and I wanted to be prepared.” She put the toilet paper back in the backpack and pushed the bag down on the floor.
I could tell by the way she avoided eye contact by looking out the window and slumped in her seat, I’d hurt her feelings. “I’m sorry, Dixie. You’re right. it’s better to be prepared than not.” I reached over and squeezed her shoulder.
She sniffed. “Well, I guess it’s just silly.”
“No. It’s not silly. It’s actually pretty amazing.”
She turned and smiled. “You think so?”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
We sat in silence for a while, but it wasn’t long before we started talking about old times and laughing. The time passed quickly once we started reminiscing, something we really hadn’t had much time to do with all of the turmoil from the divorce to Albert’s murder and then
my arrest. It felt good to laugh and talk with Dixie. She told me about her life with her husband, Beau. Dixie had always wanted children but had never been blessed with them. She said it was probably the reason she pampered and spoiled Chyna and Leia. Fortunately, Beau didn’t seem to mind.
“You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this after that huge dinner, but I’m hungry,” I said.
Dixie pulled her backpack on her lap. “What’ll you have?”
“I don’t know. I kind of want something more than snacks.”
Dixie pulled up her cell phone. “How about we order a pizza?”
“A pizza? We can’t order a pizza. We’re on a stakeout.”
“Why not? It’s almost twelve and no one has come by. What if you’re right and nobody does come tonight? “She stared at me.
“I know, but I hate to leave.”
“Who said anything about leaving?” She swiped her cell phone. “Hey, Siri, get me the number of the nearest pizza restaurant that delivers.”
The options that were still open in Lighthouse Dunes were slim, but Siri found one. Dixie called and ordered a pizza to be delivered to the commuter parking lot off Highway 2. As crazy as it sounded to me, the pizza company didn’t hesitate but promised our pizza in thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes later, a small Volkswagen beetle cruised through the parking lot with a large neon pizza attached to the top. I turned on the interior lights. The driver, a pimply faced teen with greasy long dark hair jumped out and hurried around to my window with a greasy pizza box and a bag of napkins.
I handed him a twenty and motioned for him to keep the change, which elicited a huge smile.
Like moths to a flame, the aroma of pepperoni drew the poodles’ undivided attention. If you’d ever eaten while six eyes stared you down, you would understand the state of my nerves. Dixie’s standard poodles were better behaved than Aggie. They merely stared longingly at my mouth. Aggie, like Scrappy Doo, lunged forward, barked, and whimpered. Fortunately, she was only about six pounds and easily restrained. I was so focused on eating without dropping anything that Aggie could devour like a vulture, that when there was a tap on my window, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I instinctively turned to look and saw David standing outside the car. I pressed the button to unlock the door.
David hopped into the backseat and closed the door. “Pizza, great.” He reached up between the seats and grabbed a slice from the box I was balancing on my lap. He bit into the pizza and moaned.
My heart was still racing from the shock of his unexpected arrival. “David, you’ve just taken three years off my life.” I patted my chest and tried to regulate my breathing to slow down my heartbeat. “What’re you doing here?”
When David dropped a slice of pepperoni, I thought Aggie would hurt herself trying to get it. Eventually, Dixie had had enough and got out. She opened the back door of the car and hustled the dogs out. After a brief potty break, she put them in the large crate she’d loaded in the back of the SUV before we left home. Chyna and Leia climbed in without a fuss. Aggie put up a fight. She used her paws to clutch at Dixie’s neck. However, Dixie managed to extract herself and tossed her in the crate with the big poodles.
David quickly chewed his pizza and swallowed. “You got anything to drink?”
Dixie handed him a bottle of water from her backpack. He twisted off the cap and drank half the bottle before he came up for air. When he did, he reached up to grab another slice. It was the last one. He hesitated. He looked from me to Dixie. We both nodded. He took it and ate it so quickly I would have thought he hadn’t eaten in a week if I hadn’t seen him devour a good amount of food during dinner. When he finished, he drank the rest of the water. “Thanks. I was so hungry, and that really hit the spot.” He patted his stomach. “You two really know how to have a stakeout.”
“Glad we could help,” I said. “Now that you’ve replenished yourself, perhaps you can answer my question. Why are you here?”
“I went to the Purple Panther as planned.” He leaned between the two seats as he spoke. “I was a little early, so I thought I’d check out the back parking lot, where Bambi’s car was stolen.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was looking for. I guess I wondered if maybe she was making it up, just reporting the car stolen so she could get insurance money or something.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I was just about to walk around the back corner when I saw them.” He paused for dramatic effect.
“Who?” Dixie and I both asked.
“Bambi and Chip.” Even in the semi-darkness of the car, I could see his face very clearly. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head down in a way that said Bambi and Chip were up to no good.
“What were they doing?” I asked.
He sang the playground song. “Chip and Bambi, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” He looked from me to Dixie. “Although they moved waaay beyond kissing, if you know what I mean?”
Dixie whistled.
“In the parking lot? I asked.
“I’m sure it’s not the first time,” Dixie said.
I shrugged. She was probably right. “I wonder how long that’s been going on,” I mused.
Dixie nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
David looked puzzled.
“I wonder if this started before your father died or after.”
David nodded. “I get it. You’re thinking Dad found out Bambi and Chip were…getting busy and confronted them.”
“And if Chip or Bambi shot him,” Dixie said.
“Or both,” David said.
“Right.” I pondered the possibility. More and more evidence was piling up against Chip. He had access to the books. He was probably guilty of embezzlement. If he was having a fling with Bambi, he would have access to the apartment. Even if I didn’t have evidence to prove one or both of them killed Albert, maybe I could at least prove there was someone else with a strong motive. Reasonable doubt was what Matlock always said on television. I turned to David, “But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here?”
“When they finished, Bambi got out and went inside. She was dressed in her costume and I knew she would be there for the next few hours. Chip, on the other hand, drove away. So, I followed him.”
“Followed him?” The reality of what he’d just said took a few moments to sink in. “You mean…”
He nodded toward the dealership.
That was when I noticed the light on inside.
CHAPTER 14
We sat staring at the building for several seconds. That’s when the seriousness of the situation hit me.
It must have dawned on Dixie at the same time because she turned to me and said, “Now what?”
Good question.
“Do we call the police?” Dixie whispered.
“And tell them what? One of the employees is at the car dealership at night?” I realized how stupid that sounded when spoken aloud.
“Well, he shouldn’t be there,” Dixie said.
“Mom’s right. He works there. He could say he forgot something and went to pick it up.”
I looked at the time on my phone. “At three in the morning?”
David shrugged. “I don’t know, but I think we’re going to look pretty stupid if we call them now. I think we need more evidence.”
I nodded. “I agree.” I opened the car door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Dixie asked.
“I thought I could sneak in and see what he’s up to. For all I know, he might be shredding documents that would prove he’s embezzling money.”
“You’re not going without me.” Dixie jumped out of the car.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you two go in there alone.” David said as he got out of the car.
“Well, we can’t all go,” I said.
“Why not?” Dixie open
ed the door and grabbed the pizza box and her backpack. “But let me throw this garbage away first.”
“What about the dogs?” I asked.
We looked at each other, and I could tell by the look in her eyes what she was going to say before she opened her mouth. “Oh no.”
Dixie hurried to the back of the SUV and got the dogs out and put them on leashes. “Why not? Chyna and Leia are well trained and might be protection.”
“And Aggie?” I pointed at my little toy poodle as she stretched as though she’d just worked a twelve-hour shift.
Dixie smiled. “She’s got a big heart and that might just come in handy.” She walked the dogs over to a grassy area and waited while they relieved themselves. “Besides, she’s got to learn some time.”
“We can’t just march over there,” David said.
“Why not? It was your father’s business. Now that he’s dead, we own it,” I said more to convince myself than him.
“I mean, what’s the plan?” David stepped in front of us. “Two women, a man and three poodles are just going to walk up to the building at three in the morning and confront the person who most likely killed my dad. And say what? We were out for a moonlight stroll?”
“We happened to be in the neighborhood and noticed the light?” Dixie joked.
I shrugged. “Why do we need an excuse? It’s our business. If we want to come by, why do we need to explain to Chip Nelson or anyone else?”
David stared with raised eyebrows and a smirk.
I chose to ignore the smirk. “Dixie, give me Aggie.” I took the leash from her. “Will the girls let David walk them?”
She nodded and handed the leashes for the standard poodles to David.
“Wait. Why am I bringing the dogs? Aunt Dixie is the professional dog whisperer,” David whined.
“Because Dixie is the only one of us with a gun and the knowledge to use it, unless you’re packing heat?”
David shook his head.
I looked at Dixie and she nodded and pulled her gun out of the backpack. “She’ll need her hands free, so she can focus if it comes to that.”