Dancing with Murder

by Robert T. Jeschonek

  Please God, don't let me lose Uncle Stush, too!

  *****

  Chapter 52

  As we raced off in my red rent-a-car, I shoved my phone in Peg's face. "Call the cops! Do it!"

  Peg pushed the phone away. "It's a waste of time."

  "Forget about your feud with Otto and just call them."

  She grabbed the phone and stuck it against her ear without dialing. "Hello, police? Can you come to Stush's Diner right away? We think Father Speedy the priest is going to kill Uncle Stush. What's that?" She pretended to listen. "Why, no, we don't have any evidence. But we feel very strongly that a highly respected Catholic priest is about to commit his third murder in two weeks. Hello? Hello?" She tossed the phone in my lap. "They hung up."

  Maybe she was right. In which case, one question jumped out at me. "How can we stop him without the cops?" As I whipped the car around a corner onto Solid Avenue, I floored the accelerator. Luckily, traffic was light at that time of day. "He's a killer, Peg."

  "It's two against one." She cracked her knuckles. "And he's a priest."

  "A killer priest."

  "We'll sneak up on him. Follow my lead." She cracked her knuckles again, louder than the first time.

  I wasn't convinced we could face a murderer on our own and walk away, but I let it drop for the moment. "I just can't believe I never thought it could be him. It never even occurred to me."

  "Join the club." Peg sighed. "Lou rarely talked about him. I knew about his addiction, and the hit-and-run, and how Eddie Sr. blamed him for what happened to his wife, but Lou said nothing about going after him again." She sighed once more and turned her face to the side window. "Come to think of it, there were a lot of things he never told me about."

  "You and me both." I ran a stoplight without slowing down, drawing angry horn blasts from cars at the intersection.

  Peg shifted in her seat. "But I was practically his wife. I lived with him for the past fifteen years." She drew up one leg and wrapped her arms around her knee. "We weren't supposed to have any secrets."

  The tires squealed as we hurtled around a corner. "Did he know about your relapse with Eddie Sr. three weeks ago?"

  Peg sighed. "No secrets except that one."

  I felt bad for bringing it up. "But you still loved him, didn't you?"

  "With all my heart." She said it with conviction. "Eddie was just a blip on the radar."

  "Everybody has secrets." I swung the car hard left as I plowed past a stop sign, barely missing another driver who'd started to pull out. "If Dad didn't love you, do you think he would've stayed with you for fifteen years?"

  Peg let out half a laugh. "That man never did anything he didn't want to, did he?"

  "You don't see me crying because Dad kept secrets, do you? Even though you and I are the ones left to clean up after him?"

  "You're right." She sniffled. "I just miss him so much. It makes me feel terrible about what happened with Eddie Sr."

  "Table it, Peg." We barreled past another stop sign. "Set your priorities. Right now, saving Uncle Stush should be at the top of your list."

  "I know, I know." Peg reached over and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Thanks, Lottie. You're a good friend."

  Was I? It didn't seem possible.

  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized she wasn't wrong. If someone had told me a week ago that this would happen, I would've laughed in her face, at least. But now...

  Unbelievable. Peg was right.

  "You too," I said as I swung the car around a tight turn. "You're a good friend, too."

  *****

  Chapter 53

  The parking lot in front of Stush's Diner was nearly empty when we hurtled in and slid to a stop. Stush's beat-up white delivery van was the only other vehicle in sight, parked cockeyed across two spaces by the front door.

  The sign on the door read CLOSED. The place was dead.

  What about Uncle Stush?

  "Why didn't he answer his phone?" I switched off the engine and leaned forward, scanning the diner's windows for signs of life. "He should've still been able to answer even if the place was closed."

  "Maybe he's just busy." Peg opened the door on her side and got out. "I don't see Father Speedy's car anywhere, so maybe we beat him here."

  I got out, too, and grabbed her arm as she headed for the front door. "I still think we should call the cops."

  "Speedy not being here gives us even more reason not to." Peg bobbed her head toward me and raised her eyebrows. "No danger, no worries, right?"

  "I guess." I shrugged but didn't stop frowning. "I hope you're right."

  "Relax, Lot." Peg tried the door, but it wouldn't open. She pressed the white button mounted at eye level alongside it, and the doorbell rang. "We'll be fine."

  It took two more rings for Uncle Stush to show his St. Bernard face. Watching through the window, I saw him emerge from the kitchen door behind the counter, squinting out at us with his usual droopy-eyed expression.

  I breathed a deep sigh of relief. Until that moment, it had been a toss-up as to how we'd find him, dead or alive.

  We stepped back as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Sorry, ladies." He wagged his head with tragic gloominess. "Not serving lunch. We're closed for the day."

  I gave him a puzzled look. "Why's that, Uncle Stush?"

  He blinked at each of us in turn, then licked his lips. It looked to me like he had something on his mind. "Getting ready for Polkapourri, of course."

  Peg cocked her head. "You need to close for that?"

  "This time, I do." He nodded slowly. "I'm donating all the pierogies and haluski for the weekend."

  Peg whistled. "That's a lot of pierogies and haluski."

  "Wow!" I couldn't help grinning. "How generous of you, Uncle Stush!"

  He still looked distracted. "It's my pleasure, hon. Seems to me you can use all the help you can get this year."

  "That is so great." I kept smiling and shook my head. "You're the best, you know that?"

  "Thanks, hon. Sorry I can't serve you lunch." His sad brown eyes narrowed. "That is why you're here, isn't it?"

  "Actually, Stush, we came to talk to you about something." Peg gestured at the diner. "Can we come in for a minute?"

  He pressed his lips together as he thought about it. I couldn't tell, from his expression, what was going through his mind. "Okay, sure." He pushed the door wide open and held it for us. "Come on in. But just for a minute, all right?"

  "Good enough." Peg led the way inside.

  The first thing I noticed when we walked in was the complete absence of cooking smells. Usually, the air was thick with the smell of frying butter and onions, sizzling meat, and boiling soup.

  But I didn't mention it. Stush was probably just getting started on the pierogies and haluski, chopping cabbage and rolling out dough for the shells and dumplings.

  "So what's going on?" Stush patted me on the back on his way to the kitchen. "What do you want to talk about?"

  "We need to warn you about something," said Peg. "You might be in danger."

  "What was that?" Stush was already in the kitchen, on the other side of the swinging door. "I didn't hear you."

  Peg sighed and pushed through the door, nodding for me to come with her. I smiled and shook my head.

  Just as I followed her into the kitchen, the phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and read the name of the caller on the screen.

  Glynne Corcoran.

  "Kolach?" Suddenly, Stush shoved a plate of Polish pastries in my face. The dimples in the middle of the little sweet rolls were filled with black poppyseed mixture. "I just made them last night."

  I loved kolaches but wasn't in the mood for a snack. "No thanks, Uncle Stush."

  He whisked the tray away and offered it to Peg. "How about a sweet for a sweetie? They're so perfect, I'd eat the whole plate if not for the diabetes."

  "Stush, listen." She took the tray from him and put it down on the stainless steel counter behi
nd her. "We know about Father Speedy."

  Stush's face crumpled in slow motion, folding into a deep frown. "You do?"

  Peg nodded. "We know he fell off the wagon. We know you were helping Lou and Eddie Sr. investigate him."

  "Uh-huh." Stush rubbed his chin and nodded. "Okay."

  Peg touched his shoulder and locked eyes with him. "Now Eddie's been murdered. And Lou...we believe he was murdered, too."

  Stush's brows lifted. "Murdered? Lou?"

  "The police are exhuming him as we speak," said Peg. "They're going to test for poisoning."

  Stush wagged his head slowly. "I don't believe it." His droopy brown eyes had a strange look in them. I guessed he'd done the mental math and figured out what Peg was going to say next.

  She cleared her throat. "We don't think it's a coincidence that two of the three men who investigated Father Speedy have been murdered. We think..."

  "I'm next. Oh my God." Stush backed up against the counter, holding his head in his hands. "Father Speedy's going to kill me."

  As Peg tried to calm him down, my phone vibrated. When I glanced at the screen, I saw Glynne was calling again. I pushed my fingertip toward the onscreen button to take the call...

  But Peg interrupted. "Lottie? We should take Stush somewhere safe, don't you think?"

  I lowered the phone and nodded. "Definitely."

  "Wait, wait." Stush pulled away from Peg and shuffled toward the walk-in freezer. "Can you help me first? I have bags of frozen homemade pierogies we can use at Polkapourri."

  "Don't worry about that now," said Peg.

  "I promised I'd bring pierogies. If I can't make fresh ones, at least I can bring frozen." He grabbed the handle of the walk-in door and looked back over his shoulder. "Are you going to help me?"

  "Of course." Peg headed for the freezer. "Come on, Lottie."

  The phone vibrated again, and I decided I'd better check it. "Just a sec, Peg."

  This time, according to the screen, I'd received a text message from Glynne.

  Over at the walk-in freezer, Peg rubbed her hands together. "Okay, Stush. Take me to your pierogies."

  "Thanks for helping." Stush pulled the door open, letting frigid air rush into the kitchen. "Together, we'll make short work of it."

  As the two of them walked into the freezer, I pressed the button on the phone to retrieve the text message. It popped up onto the screen, and I read it.

  Then read it again.

  I couldn't believe my eyes.

  "Lottie?" Peg was calling from the freezer. "Can you hurry up and give us a hand?"

  "Sure." That was what I said. "Coming." But the truth was, I couldn't move a muscle. I was nowhere near the freezer, but I was frozen.

  Because I'd read Glynne's text. And the few short words of it had affected me more than entire volumes ever could. They were life-changing, literally.

  And life-threatening.

  I couldn't stop staring at them. They echoed in my mind like thunder, like hoofbeats, like bombs.

  Stush dudek is a nazi war criminal.

  That was what they said.

  *****

  Chapter 54

  "Lottie?" Peg's voice wafted from the walk-in freezer. "Are you okay?"

  "Yep. Be right there." My eyes were glued to the screen of my phone, reading and re-reading Glynne's text message. Meanwhile, my brain was struggling to process the implications and figure out the hardest part.

  Which was what to do next.

  Stush dudek is a nazi war criminal.

  My heart was hammering, and my whole body was shaking. I couldn't believe how wrong we'd been. How wrong Eddie Jr. had been, too. He'd thought his dad and Lou had been working with Stush to take down Father Speedy, but they must have been working against him. Stush had been the villain all along.

  And how we'd played into his hands. All those times we'd plotted strategy in the diner...and he'd been right there, listening. Staying a step ahead of us. Threatening Peg. Attacking me after he'd translated Adrianna's phone call. What had she really said, I wondered?

  And now he had us alone, in the diner, at his mercy. Peg didn't even know the truth yet.

  We'd come to save him, and now we needed saving from him.

  Stush dudek is a nazi war criminal.

  Peg called for me again, and I knew I had to do something. I couldn't just stand there, gaping at my phone, while Stush murdered my friend.

  I took a deep breath, fighting to calm myself. The situation was life-or-death now; I couldn't afford to fall apart.

  One thing was clear to me: if I went in that freezer unarmed, I might never walk out again. We'd told Stush we were tracking a killer. Even if it was the wrong killer, we were too close for comfort. Even if Stush didn't know I knew the truth about him, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to get us out of the way for good.

  Swallowing hard, I looked around for a weapon. Huge knives were slotted in a block on the counter, but they were on the other side of the kitchen. I'd have to cross in front of the freezer door, in full view of Stush.

  The cast iron skillet was closer, hanging from a hook above the griddle. It wasn't a gun, but it could still do some damage.

  "Hey, Lottie!" Peg sounded impatient. "Are you going to make us do all the work?"

  I heard the rustling and thumping of heavy packages being moved. "Just a sec, hon."

  Pocketing the phone, I moved as quietly as I could toward the griddle. Two quick steps put me under the skillet. I wrapped both hands around its cool, rough handle and carefully lifted it up off the hook.

  I was trembling harder than ever, right through to the core, as I turned to the walk-in freezer. Our lives depended on what I did next.

  Stush was an old man, but that wouldn't matter if he had a gun. And Peg was trapped in close quarters with him, within easy reach.

  I knew what I had to do. Make the most of the element of surprise. Move fast and lash out hard.

  I'd been taking a pounding lately, and it was time to fight back.

  My hands shook uncontrollably on the handle of the skillet. I'd never been in a situation like this before, and I was terrified.

  I padded across the kitchen, as quietly as I could, holding on tight to my weapon. I took deep breaths, one after another, getting ready to make my move.

  Suddenly, I heard a loud thud inside the freezer. Then a crumpling noise, like something collapsing to the floor. Something or someone.

  And Stush called out, sounding alarmed. "Lottie, come quick! It's your stepmom!"

  Looking around the corner of the doorway, keeping the skillet out of sight, I saw him standing over Peg's body. Sacks of frozen pierogies were piled on a plastic cart beside her, and one of the sacks was laying on top of her.

  "Please hurry." Stush's voice was panicky. "Help me get her out of here. One of the bags fell off the cart and hit her on the head."

  So Stush had beaten me to it. He'd made his move before I did.

  And now I had to wonder, as I stared at the scene in the freezer, if Peg was dead because I hadn't moved faster.

  *****

  Chapter 55

  "Don't just stand there!" Stush flapped his hands and gaped at Peg's body. "You've got to help me!"

  It was a trap. If I went in there and tried to get her out, he'd do something to me, too.

  But I did have to go in. I couldn't just shut the door and call the cops, because he could kill her if she wasn't dead already.

  "What's wrong with you?" Stush scowled and stomped his foot. "She might have a concussion!"

  My throat was so tight, I could hardly swallow. My stomach was churning, my knees quivering. I couldn't do it. What if he had a...

  "Enough!" His voice was altogether different when he snapped out the word. "Get in here now, little girl!" He reached behind him with one of his big, floppy hands. "Or she dies!"

  When his hand started swinging back around, it was holding a gun.

  And I knew. All I had was a second.

  Once he br
ought up that gun, I wouldn't have a chance. Once he got it steadied in his grip, he could shoot Peg and me in quick succession. Bang. Bang.

  Now or never. His hand kept moving.

  I didn't think I could do it. I didn't want to die.

  But then something came over me. I thought of Dad, and how this monster had killed him. I thought of what he'd done to Eddie Sr.

  I even thought of Ghost, and how he'd saved my life.

  And suddenly, I was moving.

  I don't know why I cried out, but I did. This huge roar just came up out of me, from the bottom of my soul, as I darted through the doorway.

  I swung the skillet back as I ran, getting ready to swing. Stush's hand floated up with the gun, pointing in my direction.

  It was going to be close.

  I thought of Dad again as I swung. I felt the skillet connect with the gun, metal on metal, and I followed through as hard as I could.

  There was a shot, and it was deafening in the confines of the freezer. The gun went flying, broken free of his grip...but I couldn't tell at first if I'd been hit.

  And I didn't stop to find out. When the skillet reached the end of its arc, I roared again and brought it back for another swing. This time, I aimed it at his head.

  He flailed his arms but couldn't block me. I caught the side of his skull with the flat of the skillet. My hands stung from the impact.

  And he went down.

  Uncle Stush folded to the floor like an inflatable man with the air let out of him. He hardly made a sound when he landed, slumping down beside Peg.

  *****

  Chapter 56

  I stood for a moment, breathing hard in the frigid air. Letting the reality of what had just happened take hold.

  Then, I flew back into action.