by Tonya Kappes
The coat closet is as tidy as the rest of the house, which gives me plenty of room to squat. I put my hands up to my pounding heart. I can feel the blood rushing in and out of my veins. I steady myself, praying I don’t fall over.
I put my ear closer to the door. At first it’s just Brittany frantically talking and her muted cry. I lean in more to see if I can make out what she’s saying.
Through the crack, I see she’s speaking in her cell with it pinned between her ear and shoulder.
My phone rings. My heart pounds in my throat. I grab the phone and jam it down in the carpet. It’s Bradley. I press end. I turn the ringer to silent, hoping Brittany’s sobs covered up the ring.
Of all the stupid things. This is why I’m not a spy. I throw my hand over my mouth and make sure the squeal of panic I feel isn’t going to come out. I peek through the closet door crack. There’s no way she heard my phone ring, right?
My heart feels like it’s about to pound right out of my chest. I press my lips together in fear I may cry out or she might hear my chattering teeth.
I look back out the crack, I see Tramp making his way over to my not so good hiding spot. I can’t stand to watch him scratch at the door. He’s going to give me away! “No!” I say with a hiss but he keeps scratching.
“Is your bone in there, buddy?” Brittany is suddenly there beside him. She jerks opens the door and looks in and her eyes lock on mine. “Ahhh!” She screams just as Tramp begins to bark. She flees through the laundry room.
“No!” I gasp and run after her. The last thing I need is a breaking-and-entering charge along with the murder charge. “Brittany! Stop!” I scream.
She stops shy of the garage door and turns around. The surprise on her face tells me that she didn’t know it was me in the closet. I don’t blame her. Anybody crouching in a closet would be scary.
“Olivia?” She narrows her eyebrows and searches my face for an answer. “Why are you in my house?”
Slowly I walk backwards as she starts to walk fast towards me.
“I...I…” I don’t have any time to spare. “I need to know why you are threatening me.” I stand tall and hold my own, even though blood is pulsing in my head.
Of course! She doesn’t know Splitsville.com and Olivia Davis are one and the same. She puts her hands up to her chest.
“Me? Threatening you?” Her voice escalates. “Are you crazy?”
“Are you or are you not sending emails to Splitsville.com from the Internet cafe?” I’m not about to let her get away with this. I have the lipstick. I pull the tube from the SPCA out of my pocket and jab it in her face as if it’s a weapon.
She grabs the tube from my hands. “How do you know about that?”
“Because, Brittany,” I say, channeling my Splitsville.com persona. No prisoners. No sympathy. Just straight to the jugular. I had no idea that being Jenn would actually help me. I’m Jenn.”
“You?” She steps back. “You are Jenn from Splitsville.com? You’re the one who broke up with me on the internet?”
“Um, yeah,” I mutter under my breath. I’m back to being Olivia and suddenly feeling bad.
I’m taken off guard when she starts to cry. I’ve seen her go from scared, to mad to sad all within a few minutes.
She puts her hands up over her eyes to shield them from me. But her shaking shoulders and silent whimper let me know she’s really upset.
I walk a little closer to her and rub my hand along her arm for a little comfort. “Listen, it’s a job.” For a moment I forget that she might be the killer.
“I know it is, but it’s my heart.” She starts to sob. “I loved him and he didn’t have the decency to break up with me in person.” She shakes her head and starts blabbering.
“No! No! I didn’t want to hurt Jenn, you—whoever, but Mac said to get Kent back by breaking him and Erin up. I didn’t even know who Jenn was. They were empty threats!” She screams louder. “I swear!”
“Mac?” I step back and catch myself up against Brittany’s car. Why is his name having an effect on me?
“Kent’s best friend.” Brittany put her head in her hands as her tears start to flow. “He couldn’t believe Kent broke up with me.”
We both look up to see Carl’s cop car pulling into her driveway. Carl gets out with his hand on his gun like he’s ready to draw it at any moment.
Brittany wipes the tears off her face with her hands. “Great. I guess you called the police.”
Carl walks closer. “Ms. Davis.” He nods his head towards me, then faces Brittany. “Are you Ms. Brittany Darlington?”
I ignore his arrogant light purple aura, which is taking over all the space in the air.
Brittany nods and I keep my mouth shut for once. “Yes, I’m Brittany.”
Carl takes the cuffs off his belt. He cuffs her hands in front of her. “I think you have some explaining to do as to why you are illegally using the internet to make threats against Ms. Davis and her company. I have obtained records from The Coffee Bean computer and traced the threatening emails to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Brittany says in a hushed whisper. “I never meant to hurt her.”
I’m glad to see a greener glow around her instead of the red aura a few minutes ago. Her spirit has begun the healing process of forgiveness and peace.
I watch Brittany walk silently to the cop car with her head down. The neighbors have gathered in their front yards.
After Carl puts her in the back of the police car, he comes walking back to me.
“Listen, I wasn’t planning on confronting her.” I explain why I’m there.
Carl puts his fingers up to my mouth to make me shut up. “The day I saw you at the coffee shop, I was serving a subpoena for their computer. Your aunt told me some of the threats were coming from there and I knew it needed to be checked out. Stop implicating yourself.” He turns to go back to his cruiser. “Can you take her dog with you? She said she’d get him back from you later.”
I just nod. What do I look like, the dog whisperer?
“We will talk about this later.” Carl wags his finger between the house and me.
I’m sure we will, I think, but dare not say it aloud.
Twenty-Nine
My Toyota can’t get me home fast enough. I replay Brittany’s confession in my mind. My gut tells me she didn’t kill Dabi or Kent.
I have to take a hard right turn into my driveway. The street is lined with cars for the annual neighborhood yard sale. They are bumper to bumper.
She is sitting on the bar stool at the kitchen counter looking through Dabi’s photo album when I walk in with Tramp.
Her mouth flings open and she shouts, “Tramp! Come here boy.”
I smile seeing the joy on her face. It’s the first time I’ve seen her really smile since Kent’s death. I laugh as Tramp showers her with big wet kisses. Erin’s going to be okay.
Erin looks up at me. “How did you get Tramp?”
“You won’t believe it.” I throw my keys onto the pile of clothes on the couch.
“Try me.” Her eyes are curious.
I walk over to the coffee pot and pour a two mugs of coffee. “Of course I had to find out if Brittany was blind threatening me or if she killed Dabi and Kent.”
Erin put her hands in the air. “And?”
“I really think she only threatened me because of the service.”
“How do you know that?”
“I asked her point blank. Granted, now she knows I’m Jenn, which isn’t good, but...” I look back at the sound of the door opening in the bathroom. I’m sure Aunt Matilda is going to love this story. She’s going to tell me that I should’ve left it up to Park City’s finest. “But she is sorry for it.” I don’t tell Erin about Brittany’s aura.
I run the spoon in circles to stir cream in my coffee. “So if Brittany didn’t do it, who did?”
Erin sighs. “Let’s go over it one more time.”
I know the next words out of my mouth aren’t going to
sit well with her, but something about Kent doesn’t add up. I really think these murders are related to him and I also think Dabi was an innocent victim.
“Suppose Dabi wasn’t the first woman Kent took to the cleaners.” I watch Erin shift around on the bar stool. I put my hand up in the air. “Hear me out. What if he’s done it before? Maybe that woman hired someone to kill him.”
She shakes her head. “That doesn’t explain Dabi’s murder.”
We both pause to take a sip of coffee and ideas splash around my head.
Erin perks up. “What if Dabi was going to rat someone out? But who? It wouldn’t have been Kent though, because he did make it right with her. He paid back all her money.” Erin takes another sip and sets the cup down. The color suddenly drains from her face and her voice drops to a whisper. “He told me there were other women, but never mentioned their names.”
I look out the window and watch a few excited garage salers boasting about their finds. I turn back around and pace alongside the counter.
“I just don’t get it.” I tap my fingers on the stack of mail on the counter. A Central People’s Trust envelope is on top. It’s our local bank. “I’m missing something. I feel it.”
Wait. I don’t bank at Central People’s Trust. But Dabi Stone does I literally feel the answer. I look more closely at the envelope. It’s her name on the label.
“What?” Erin looks at the envelope. “What is it?”
I look at all the other mail on the counter. I had forgotten I’d taken it from her apartment. “Dabi Stone’s bank statement.” Before I can talk to myself about the legal implications of opening someone else’s mail, I use my index finger to lift the seal.
Erin looks over my shoulder and gasps.
“What?” I look down at the cancelled checks lying on the counter that fell out.
“Why would she give Timmerman five-hundred-thousand dollars?” Erin’s hand is up to her mouth.
“Who?” I question.
“Umm…” Erin looks down the hall. “Mac Timmerman, Kent’s best friend.”
I squint down the hall to see what Erin is so leery about. Someone is walking down the hall and it’s definitely not Aunt Matilda.
Erin nervously stands up. “Oh, Olivia this is Kent’s best friend, Mac—he, um, came by to give his condolences.” I can hear the tremble in her voice, but she’s trying to keep it calm.
Mac nods. There’s no smile or sparkle in his dark eyes. His goatee is hard to forget. He’s the same guy with Kent the day of the kissing booth.
Everything seems to come to a halt. Mac…Mac…Mac. His name takes over my mind.
“Nice to meet you.” I smile while shaking his hand. I quickly pull away at the sudden jolt to my stomach. A black cloud starts creeping along his thinning black hair and down his arms.
He smiles, but his aura grays his teeth.
“I’ll let you catch up while I go get something from my office.” I walk away, trying not to lose my balance.
Oh my God, I keep repeating in my head. I know his voice and I know that name. I pull up the files on my computer and search. Mac Timmerman, the same Mac that was dumped by Carla, is smiling that same crooked smile that he was just smiling in my family room.
I put my ear closer to the door where he and Erin are standing. I hear Erin’s voice amplify. “No, Mac!” She sounds frustrated. “He didn’t say anything about money or deals. He stopped hustling.”
Mac’s words are muffled, but they sound angry.
I gather myself together and rush back into the room. “Um…did I miss something?” I can feel the tension. Erin doesn’t take her eyes off Mac and Mac isn’t smiling and showing those crooked teeth.
He looks at me. He plants his feet firmly with his stocky arms crossed. “No, this is between me and her.” His eyes squint.
I get chills as he looks me up and down. I walk over to the window and privately pray to see Aunt Matilda coming toward the house. Or anyone for that matter. All I see is a BMW parked on the street. My heart sinks. It’s the same BMW that I saw at Brittany’s and Macro Hard. Mac.
I jerk around when I hear the lock click at the back door. Mac is standing in front of it. Still no smile. “And you too, now.” He sounds so sinister. The black aura has taken over his entire frame.
He takes his baseball cap out of back pocket and puts it on.
My lips are grim in a straight line. I don’t like what I’m seeing or hearing.
Erin looks between the two of us. “What are you talking about Mac?”
He reaches behind his back and pulls out a gun out of his jean waistband. “You two.” He shakes his gun between us and the couch. “Sit down.”
“What are you doing?” Erin puts her hands up.
Mac waves his gun. “Get on the couch!” he yells and we scuttle over.
“Listen Mac,” I say, trying to calm him down. “We won’t tell anyone about your and Kent’s business. You can just leave.” Slowly I exhale out every particle of air left in my lungs. My voice sounds like many of the people I dump and I feel like I’m going through the steps. Disbelief. Hurt. Shock.
“You couldn’t just let it go.” He grabs my arm and drags me across the living room into the kitchen and pushes me up against the counter. “I couldn’t figure out how I know you, but it just clicked.” Mac snaps his fingers in the air. If looks could burn holes, I’d be a geyser. “Splitsville.com. Did you get pleasure in breaking up with me for Carla?”
Everything, all the clues, roll in my mind like a slot machine.
“Olivia?” Erin asks, panic rising in her voice. “What is going on?”
I keep a close eye on Mac as he paces back and forth in a state of anger. He throws his baseball cap against the wall and lets out a small groan. He thrusts the gun towards me. “I had this all planned out but you have to be nosey, don’t you?”
I jump.
His black turbulent aura is starting to scare me. His white Puma shoes scare me more. “I came here to see if Erin knows anything, but she doesn’t.”
“What’s going on Mac?” Erin begins to shake. I reach over to calm her.
“She’s Jenn from Splitsville.com.” He tells her. He closes his eyes and shakes his head.
“So.” Her voice is flat, sad and scared.
“You’re so dumb. Rich and dumb.” Mac’s crooked teeth are more jacked up in person. “I told Kent to let you be the last score, not Dabi. But, no, he had to go and fall in love with you.” He jabs his gun in Erin’s chest. She bursts out in tears.
I stand up.
“Sit back down!” He screams through his gritted teeth. “I have no problem killing you.”
“What?” Erin presses her hands against the sides of her face. She’s in a state of shock. “What are you talking about?”
“Shut up!” Mac bellows. Erin and I cower together as he pulls the window blind closed. “I had it all planned out. All the clues pointing to you.” He looks to me like it’s no big deal that he’s pinning a couple of murders on me.
I do give him an award for being creative and manipulative. My mind is boggled because I never suspected anyone other than Brittany. Officer Ian isn’t here, and I’m not wired, but I want to get him talking anyway. I need time to figure out how to get us out of this alive. “What happened, Mac? Did Kent turn on you?”
He scoffs. “It was great. Kent and I had a deal.” He turns the faucet on the kitchen sink and bends down to get a drink.
Now’s my chance. I reach over and ever so slowly, taking my keys off the pile of clothes next to me, and slip them into my pocket.
He whirls around, water dripping down his chin, and flails his gun at Erin. My hand freezes. “He got a conscience when he met you. Dabi was our ticket, along with Carla.” He isn’t in control of his words. “Dabi gave him everything. Even these stupid shoes.” He points down at the white Pumas. “But then he goes and confesses that he only married her for the money and she forgave him.” Mac laughs out like a mad man.
Erin
looks over at me with cautious eyes. Her head shakes back and forth, telling me not to make a sound with my keys.
“Only Dabi didn’t forgive me. She was going to go to the police so I strangled her.” The words roll off his tongue like it’s no big deal. “It would all come back to Kent as the killer, but he was going to rat me out with all my women, just like he did with Carla. That’s when she used Splitsville.com to dump me.”
Erin and I watch Mac. I calculate my next move, but my mind is blank. I can only pray that help is on the way. Help being in the form of one Brittany picking up her dog, but it seems too much to hope for.
“I took the picture at the kissing booth.” An evil grin crosses Mac’s lips up to his ears and a sparkle comes from his eyes. “Originally I thought Erin would be the one Brittany threatened, but when Splitsville.com popped up on the radar and associated dear Dabi with Kent, I couldn’t resist.”
“You!” Erin jumps up. Tears pour out of her eyes and down her cheek.
“Ah ah ah.” His finger wiggles back and forth and Erin eases herself back onto the couch.
She turns her body towards me. “He killed Kent!”
“Shut up!” Mac fidgets more. “I’ve got to think.”
“Mac.” I know how to talk people off a ledge. I do it every day with Splitsville.com. This is going to be a test of how good I really am. “What about Brittany?”
“She’s just another person with a motive.” He seems pretty pleased with himself. “That’s where you came in. See, I had her use Splitsville.com to get back at Kent and then threaten you, so if you didn’t pan out as the murderer, she would.”
He laughs hard. “And Tramp. That was classic.” He slaps his hands together beaming with pride. “After I killed Kent, I left the door open to make it look like the dog ran away. But I brought him to Brittany and the police don’t even know Kent had a dog.”
“You. . .”Erin gets back up, her hand flying full force at his face.
He grabs it and pushes her back down. Tramp runs down the hall to Erin’s side and begins to lick her teary face.