Gretchen Birch Boxed Set (Books 1-4)

by Deb Baker

  Gretchen opened the door, made her illegal entry, placed her tools on the floor, and hurried to the kitchen. The house creaked, startling her. The refrigerator motor kicked in, and she almost fainted.

  Get a grip, she scolded herself.

  The basic wallpaper seemed to be the same color as that in the room box, but the border was different. Gretchen chewed on her lip, trying to remember more clearly. Too bad the room box had been scorched in the fire. She had a picture on her camera phone, but it was a little out of focus and the colors weren’t exactly right. Not to mention that she had left it in her car.

  Gretchen pulled over a kitchen chair and stood on it. She reached up and tried to peel away the edge of the border. It wouldn’t budge. She tried a different spot. What was the paper glued down with? Cement?

  She moved the chair to a new spot and tried again. Any second, she expected Britt to come home and catch her. She was almost ready to give up, when she felt the border give slightly under her fingers. Carefully she inserted her utility knife under the wallpaper, working it loose.

  She pulled the first layer away and stared at the underlying design: an apple. A teapot. The room spun. Gretchen leaned against a cabinet for support.

  Britt hadn’t had time to remove the wallpaper, so she’d just papered over it.

  Nina had been right. But Gretchen hadn’t believed her. She would never forgive herself if her aunt was dead. Gretchen replaced the chair.

  She heard the garage door rising.

  Chapter 37

  Gretchen quickly calculated her chances of getting out of the house before Britt came in and caught her. Slim to none, she decided, running for the doll-making studio. She’d go out the back workshop door, the same one she’d used when they had visited. Piece of cake.

  Except the back door was deadbolted, and the key wasn’t in the lock. She felt along the top of the door frame. Nothing.

  Gretchen heard someone enter the house just as she spotted another door she hadn’t noticed when she visited. It was a walk-in storage closet. She slid in and held her breath, wondering how she would get out of this mess.

  If it came to a physical confrontation, she was sure she could take Britt. Gretchen was a larger woman than Britt. This was the one and only time she had ever appreciated her size. Still, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  It was dark in the closet, but as her eyes adjusted, she saw the outline of storage units lining the wall. If she scooted back far enough, she might remain undetected. Then what? She would have to wait until dark and sneak out.

  Too bad she had left her cell phone in the car.

  Smart thinking, Gretchen.

  She edged toward the back of the storage closet. Her foot struck something soft, something unyielding. At that moment, she realized she wasn’t alone in the closet.

  She blinked, straining to see more clearly. Gretchen squatted and gasped. The clown suit! She slapped her hand across her mouth to stifle a scream. Gretchen could see the jutting hair and the shiny bald spot on top. And the big nose.

  The most horrifying thing of all was that the suit wasn’t empty.

  Someone was crumpled in a heap, wearing the clown face: nose, wig, and white face paint. The paint seemed to glow in the dark. The rest of the body was clothed in a fabric Gretchen could identify even in the dark: her aunt’s favorite pink pantsuit.

  The lifeless body belonged to Nina!

  Gretchen ran her fingers along the prone woman’s neck, searching for a pulse. If Nina was dead, Gretchen would attack Britt and strangle her with her bare hands.

  A pulse throbbed under her fingers. Gretchen felt tears of relief well in her eyes. She wiped them away and cradled her unconscious aunt in her arms.

  She couldn’t sit tight and wait until dark to get out. Who knew what Britt had given Nina? Her aunt might have enough poison in her body to kill her while Gretchen waited for the right moment to make her escape. She had to get help as quickly as possible.

  When she peeked out of the closet, she found the room empty. With dawning horror, she realized she had left her tools in the kitchen in plain view. She had to be quick. Her best bet was still the back door. Or a window. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?

  The casement window opened easily enough, another stroke of luck.

  “What are you doing?” Britt’s stood next to the kiln, her face twisted with rage—wild angry eyes and a red, distorted face. “What are you doing in my house?”

  Gretchen whirled. “What is Nina doing in your closet?” She steadied her voice. “What did you do to her?”

  “Your aunt was distraught. I gave her something to calm her nerves. See how effective my potions are? I like to mix and match and watch the results. An old hobby left over from my lab assistant days. I love the way chemicals interact with each other, don’t you? A little flour here, a little liquid nicotine there, a small dose of epinephrine—

  “I’m calling for help.”

  “No. You aren’t.”

  With one experienced motion, Britt opened the firing kiln. “This was meant for my traitorous friend, Nina, but I’m sure it will accommodate you as well. Twenty three hundred degrees. Just the right temperature.”

  “But, why? Nina offered her friendship to you.”

  “Nina doesn’t understand friendship any better than Charlie did. Best friends are best friends for life. Until death do we part. Just like wedding vows. Charlie wasn’t a true friend, or she never would have cared about her sister more than me.”

  “You have that twisted.” Did she ever! “You killed Sara and poisoned Charlie. What kind of person are you?”

  “You’ll never understand true love. You’re as fickle as the rest.”

  She blazed with hate as she lunged at Gretchen.

  Gretchen readied herself for the physical attack. If she could only get to the drawers that contained the knives.

  She hadn’t anticipated Britt’s strength. Nor had she seen the hypodermic needle concealed in her hand. Until it was almost too late.

  Gretchen grabbed her wrist and tried to snap it away from her, but she couldn’t break Britt’s grip on the syringe. They were locked together when they fell to the floor. Gretchen felt the sting of the needle pierce the skin of her arm. She wrenched away before Britt could release whatever evil potion she had concocted.

  Britt struggled to her feet, panting, preparing for another attack.

  Gretchen heard a scream from the doorway.

  “Mother! What are you doing?” Britt’s daughter, Melany, looked stricken.

  “Tying up loose ends. You came just in time.”

  Britt’s French twist wasn’t perfect any longer.

  Melany’s eyes dropped to her mother’s hand.

  The firing kiln spewed raw heat.

  “Nina is in the closet,” Gretchen said, afraid to move, anticipating another rush from Britt. “We need to get help for her.”

  “What did you do to her, Mother?”

  “Gave her something to calm her nerves.”

  “Tell me.”

  “You have to help me with both of them,” Britt said. “You don’t want your mother in prison, do you? Hold her for me, and I’ll take care of the rest. We’ll burn the clown suit right along with them. No one will ever have to know.”

  “My old clown suit? What does that have to do with anything?”

  When Britt didn’t answer, Melany moved toward them, close enough that Gretchen could see the indecision in her eyes. “You still talk in your sleep,” she said to her mother. “Night after night I hear you apologizing to Charlie for killing her sister. You make excuses for yourself. Did you know that?”

  “I’m sorry baby. I never wanted you involved. Sara had to go. She was interfering with the love between Charlie and me. You know I always thought of Charlie as my best friend. If only she hadn’t found out what I’d done. Why did she have to make that sloppy excuse for a room box.”

  Melany looked stricken. “The room box with a sample of you
r wallpaper?”

  “And a miniature peanut butter jar and a vial that was labeled as poison.”

  “You killed her because of the room box?” Melany looked like she might pass out. The girl started trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes. If Gretchen made a run for the window, would she make it? Would Melany let her mother burn Nina while she ran for help? Gretchen couldn’t risk it.

  Britt stared at Gretchen, ever muscle flexed for combat. “I had no choice. She and I went to dinner the night before the party to celebrate. She was so excited about the room boxes. We stopped back at the shop. She had forgotten her house key, left it on the desk. I peeked under the display cloth while she was in the back room. I saw what she intended to do. To our friendship, to you and me.”

  “Mother,” Melany cried. “I’m the one who put that room box in with the others. I was the one who wanted to expose you for what you really are.”

  “No,” Britt said. “It was Charlie. Not you. Help me now. We’ll talk later.”

  “Please, Melany,” Gretchen said. “Call for an ambulance. Save Nina.”

  “You’re already an accessory,” Britt said to her daughter. “You knew about the explosion at the store and didn’t turn on me then. You’re on my side. I’m your mother.” Britt smiled sweetly.

  Gretchen thought again of escape. Could she climb out the window before Britt plunged the syringe into her back? Even if she made it, her aunt would be a pile of ashes before Gretchen could get back with reinforcements.

  Neither of them would make it out alive if Melany sided with her mother.

  Melany came closer. “You pretended to be Ryan Maize. I found the do-rag,” she said, her eyes riveted on her mother. “You set him up. And all the time it was you.”

  “Clever, wasn’t it?”

  Gretchen edged away. She could see the raw terror on Melany’s face.

  Melany stared at her mother. Fearful. Uncertain.

  Britt had a sharp eye on Gretchen. “He would have died peacefully while engaged in his favorite pastime, if she hadn’t interfered. Charlie’s murderous son, dead by his own hand.” Her voice hardened. “Melany, grab her.”

  Melany was very quick. Gretchen stepped back, fear clamping down on her chest so she could hardly breathe.

  Britt’s eyes widened in sudden comprehension when her daughter turned toward her. Melany pushed her backwards. Britt stumbled once and almost fell down.

  She recovered, but Melany was on her. Another push. Britt screamed as her back made contact with the hot metal of the open kiln. Melany was going to roast her mother.

  Gretchen rushed forward and tried to pull Melany away. “No!” she screamed. “Let her go.”

  “She deserves it. Look what she’s done. She’s evil!”

  Britt screamed.

  Gretchen pulled at Melany with all her strength and pleaded, “Don’t become what she is. Let her go.”

  Melany hesitated.

  “Don’t become her,” Gretchen whispered.

  Abruptly Melany released her mother. Britt crumpled to the floor, moaning. Gretchen saw severe burns along her shoulders and spine. The clothes on her back had been burned away. Gretchen ripped her top over her head the way she had seen April remove hers to fight the shop fire. She wrapped the cloth across Britt’s back to douse the few remaining sparks of fire and to protect her skin from further damage.

  “Make the call, Melany. I’m going to check on Nina.”

  Melany stood as though paralyzed, staring at her mother. Then she dropped to the floor and buried her face in her hands. Britt moaned beside her.

  Gretchen placed the emergency call, requesting more than one ambulance. She didn’t leave her unconscious aunt’s side until she heard the sirens outside the house.

  Chapter 38

  They were crowded into Nina’s hospital room: Gretchen, Caroline, April, and Brandon Kline.

  “Where was Matt Albright while all this was happening?” Caroline said. “I’d asked him to keep track of you.”

  “That explains why he kept popping up,” Gretchen said. “You gave him permission to follow me around?”

  “He didn’t need my permission. Besides, you didn’t expect me to allow my favorite daughter to put herself in jeopardy.”

  “Britt isn’t in this hospital, is she?” Nina said. “I won’t be able to sleep if she is.”

  “You’re going home today; you don’t have to worry,” Brandon said. “And I’m driving you.”

  Nina blushed.

  “I owe you an apology,” April said, sheepishly to Nina. “I pooh-poohed all that psychic nonsense…I mean…well…I mean…”

  “Spit it out,” Nina said, grinning. “You believe me now?”

  “I promise,” April said, crossing her heart, “I’ll never laugh at your mumbo jumbo again.”

  “I agree,” Gretchen said. “Maybe there’s something to it after all. But you really handled it the wrong way.”

  “I know. I wanted to prove myself so badly that I just rushed in.”

  “We might never have solved the case without you,” Brandon said to Nina, laying it on a little thick, Gretchen thought.

  Brandon looked around at his captivated audience. “Britt Gleeland was responsible for everything. She killed Sara because Sara didn’t like her, and she worried she would lose her friend. She killed Charlie when she thought Charlie had found out and was going to expose her publicly at the unveiling,” he continued. “She rigged Bernard’s bug juice to explode, plotting to keep him away from the shop. She wore a do-rag when she bombed the store to eliminate the evidence and throw suspicion on Ryan, and she shot him up with enough epinephrine to slowly kill him.”

  “She told you all this,” Gretchen said.

  “She made a full confession.”

  “All in the name of friendship,” April said. “What a certifiable kook.”

  “Sometimes,” Nina said quietly, “friends do crazy things, hurtful things.”

  April smiled at her. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

  “What’s going to happen to Melany?” Gretchen asked Brandon.

  “She won’t be charged,” he said. “She did what she thought she had to do to save you and Nina. Her mother’s going to prison, and Melany feels responsible for Charlie’s death. She thought she was doing the right thing by placing that box with the others. Instead, it triggered Charlie’s death.”

  “I don’t think Charlie even saw the extra room box before she died,” Gretchen said.

  The detective agreed, “Melany placed it with the others after Britt and Charlie left for dinner. Chances are good that she never got a chance to see it.”

  “At least,” Caroline added, “Charlie never knew what Britt had done to Sara.” She shook her head. “What possessed her to make those room boxes, I’ll never know.”

  “Ryan’s one floor up from you,” Gretchen said to Nina. “He’s making progress, but he needs time.”

  “That’s more good news. Now clear out,” Nina ordered them. “I want to get dressed and get out of here. Not you, Gretchen. You stay and help me.”

  Brandon, Caroline, and April dutifully left the room.

  “Everything turned out,” Nina said. “The only one who will be permanently scarred for life is the burn victim, and she deserves it.”

  “I think there will be some emotional scars for a few others. Ryan and Melanie have a long way to go.”

  “Everything will work out for Ryan and Melanie,” Nina said with a knowing look on her face. “What about you? Where’s Matt Albright?”

  ****

  Gretchen sat at the very top of Camelback Mountain. She barely noticed the birds, or the beautiful sunny February day, or the spectacular view of the city below her.

  She chewed her lip and waited. The inside of her mouth was raw from worrying it.

  Late afternoon, and the lower cliffs of the mountain were crowded with inexperienced climbers. Groups of them sat on the big boulder, the same boulder where Matt had held her hand and kis
sed her.

  She remembered his exact words. “Once my divorce is final, you have to give me a chance.”

  “I’d climb a mountain for you,” he’d said when he called to remind her of the court date and time. As though she could forget. The divorce hearing had begun at one o’clock.

  “I expect you to climb all the way to the topmost peak,” she had said, laughing.

  “The top!” he’d replied. “I’ll never make it that far.”

  “The top,” she’d insisted.

  Neither of them had mentioned the other possibility—that the divorce would be postponed again.

  Gretchen checked her watch. Four thirty. Three and a half hours since the final hearing was scheduled to begin. He wasn’t coming.

  Her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her pocket, reading his number on the caller I.D. Her dwindling spirit fell further. He was calling to say he wasn’t coming. She didn’t answer the phone.

  Now what? Keep waiting? The divorce might never happen. Gretchen had to move on with her life.

  She stood up. Her phone rang again. Him again. She sighed and answered it. “Hey, I know, it didn’t happen. And I can’t wait—

  “I’m a free man,” Matt said. “Single. Dashing. Intelligent.”

  Gretchen glanced down the mountain. Why wasn’t he climbing to meet her? Had he reconsidered, decided to give bachelorhood a try? Maybe he wanted another fashion model Arizona woman like Kayla.

  “You’re wondering why I’m not crawling up the mountain on my belly, right?”

  “It crossed my mind.”

  “If we’re going to get our relationship off on the right path, we have to be willing to make an effort.”

  “Okay.” Where was this going?

  “Both of us.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I thought,” Matt said, “you should meet me halfway.”

  Gretchen grinned.

  “I’m up past the boulder. See me waving.”

  Gretchen did see him.

  “This is as far as I’ve ever gone. Get your cute bod down here to meet me, woman.”