Deena and Gary joined her outside of the garage, and she pushed the buttons to lower the door.
Not only was it time for her to put on a show, Deena couldn’t even imagine their part of the watch covered six entire blocks. She took a few steps into the grass while Marcie’s back was still turned and then did a drop and roll like Officer Santos had taught her. The roll was fine. The drop . . . not so much. “Ow! My ankle.” She grabbed at her leg.
Gary bent down and just stared at her foot.
Marcie rushed over. “Are you okay?”
Deena used her best acting skills, conjuring up the feeling of having to walk four more blocks as a way to convincingly cringe in pain. “It really hurts.” She rocked back and forth and then pressed the cold bottle of water against it for good measure.
Gary stood back up. “I can carry you home.”
“Don’t be silly,” Marcie said. “I’ll drive you.” She headed back toward the garage door opener.
Deena locked eyes on Gary. They hadn’t expected her to say that. She reached out for Gary to help her up. “It’s okay. I can hobble home.” She paused, then added, “I just wish there was a shortcut. Our house is just right over there.” She pointed a few houses down and over her backyard neighbor’s home.
Marcie hesitated. Then she said, “There is. Pick her up, Gary, and follow me.”
Gary looked at Deena with more fright on his face than she’d seen since they’d concocted this plan. She didn’t want to put either of them through the embarrassment of him trying to lift her. “That’s okay, dear. I can lean on your shoulder.”
Marcie led the way through her backyard and then out a back gate. They cut through a neighbor’s yard to a gate connecting it to Edwin’s backyard.
Deena limped along until they were finally in the front yard between Edwin’s house and hers.
Goose bumps rose on Deena’s arms as she realized their plan had gone through without a hitch. They’d found the antifreeze and gotten Marcie to prove she knew a back way into Edwin’s home. Then she said the magic words. “That was a great shortcut, Marcie.”
Just then, headlights zoomed toward them.
Easy boys, Deena thought.
Tires squealed as the car stopped right in front of Edwin’s house. The streetlight lit up the vehicle. It wasn’t the white van.
It was Kitty Cooper’s red car. She jumped out and slammed the door. “Marcie Phillips. At last I come face to face with my grandfather’s killer.” She marched toward Marcie with her claws out.
Gary leaned down and buried his head in Deena’s chest, yelling, “Abort! Abort!” into the hidden microphone.
Deena pushed him away and threw herself between Marcie and the rampaging girl. “Stop, Kitty! You don’t know that for sure.” She grabbed Kitty’s arms and held her back.
Marcie ran to stand behind Gary. “What do you mean, ‘for sure’? Do you think I might have killed Edwin? He was my friend!”
“Friends don’t poison their friends!” Kitty started forward, but Deena pulled her away toward the sidewalk.
Gary stood frozen like a statue as Marcie stuck her head around him again. “I cared about him more than you did, you ungrateful waste of air. That’s why he left his money to me.”
Gary came to life then. “But you forged his signature. Deena can prove it.”
Thanks for throwing me under the bus, she thought.
Marcie stepped out of Gary’s shadow and moved slowly toward Edwin’s house. “I see what this is now. It’s a setup. There’s nothing wrong with your foot. And there’s nothing wrong with me getting what I deserve. I’ll challenge you in court, Miss Pitty Kitty. Since I reported you for elder abuse, I can’t imagine a judge taking your side over mine. And none of you will be able to prove anything. It’ll be your word against mine.”
“The cops know about the poison. They have your fingerprints.” Deena glanced down the street, hoping the police van was on its way. She could feel the muscles tighten in Kitty’s arm and was afraid the girl was about to go ballistic.
“You’re bluffing,” Marcie said. “I wore gloves.” She crossed her arms defiantly.
That was all it took. Kitty wrenched her arm from Deena’s grasp and charged toward Marcie, sending her sailing to the ground. “Someone should draw a chalk outline around you!” Then she jumped on top of Marcie and soon there were voices screeching, arms waving, and hair flying.
Deena ran up to Gary. “Should we do something?”
He pointed down the street as the white police van came roaring around the corner. “Cavalry’s here,” he said. Then he reached out and caught one of the hair sticks as it came sailing through the air. “Now, that’s what I call a catfight.”
Chapter 28
As soon as the police took Marcie away in handcuffs, Gary hurried back inside the house to wash his hands. Various neighbors stood on their lawns most likely speculating about what had happened.
Christy Ann rushed across the street just as Officer Santos was following Deena into the house. “Deena! What on earth is going on? Did you kill someone? I know I’ve joked about it, but did you really do it this time?”
“Where’s the baby monitor?” Deena asked calmly.
“He’s inside with the kids. Parker, that is.” She brushed her blond hair from her face. “Now quit stalling and tell me what’s going on.”
Deena raised her blouse and Officer Santos carefully pulled off the tape used to attach the wiring to her chest.
“She’s not a killer,” Gary said as he came out of the kitchen, drying his freshly washed hands on a towel. “But she did catch one. Marcie Phillips is the person who killed Edwin.”
“We caught one,” Deena said, trying not to wince as the tape came off.
“Well, all I know is that I had just gotten the baby to sleep when all of a sudden I heard tires squealing and women screaming—I thought there was a real live slasher movie being filmed on our street.” She put her hands on her hips. “The baby thinks it’s morning now and will never get back to sleep.”
“Sorry about that,” Deena said. “Kitty’s arrival wasn’t part of the plan.”
“But it worked.” Guttman stood in the doorway. “When Marcie said she wore gloves, we knew we had her dead to rights. It was the last piece of the puzzle we needed to nail her.”
“Hmm,” Christy Ann said to Deena. “Come over for lunch tomorrow and I expect to hear every last detail. I’ll make chicken salad sandwiches.”
As Christy Ann left, Gary walked over and shook Guttman’s hand. “Great job, detective.”
“But you,” he said to Gary, “not so much. I thought you were going to blow it when you almost mentioned antifreeze in the garage.” Guttman turned to Deena. “But you, Mrs. Sharpe, you were a star.” He walked over and patted her on the back. “You had me believing you really had hurt your leg.”
Deena grinned at the rare compliment. “Aw, shucks. I guess Marcie isn’t the only actress in the neighborhood.”
Gary folded his arms and a frown replaced his smile. “I thought I did pretty well, all things considered. If I’d had a little more time to memorize my lines, I’d have had the role down pat.”
Guttman shook his head. “Don’t quit your day job.”
Deena took her husband’s arm. “Don’t worry about that. That’s my modus operandi. Gary is the stable one in the family.”
Gary leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Maybe so, but from now on, you do your thing and I’ll do mine. I can’t imagine what I was thinking. This murder investigating is way too stressful for me.”
“Well, thanks again, you two. I’ve got a crime scene to process.” Guttman headed toward the door. He pointed at Deena. “Come by the station tomorrow and we’ll talk.”
After he left, Gary turned to his wife. “What did he mean by that? He’s not talking about a job for you with the police, is he?”
Deena held up her hands. “Absolutely not. I’m retired and proud of it. From now on, I’m just the s
leuth next door.”
THE END
Works by Lisa B. Thomas
Maycroft Mysteries
Sharpe Image (Prequel Novella)
Sharpe Shooter
Sharpe Edge
Sharpe Mind
Sharpe Turn
Sharpe Point
Sharpe Cookie
Sharpe Note
Sharpe Wit
Sharpe Pain
Sharpe Tongue (due 2020)
Killer Shots Mysteries
Negative Exposure
Freeze Frame
Picture Imperfect
Ready to Snap
Beachside Books Magical Cozy Mysteries
(Co-written with Paula Lester)
Pasta, Pirates and Poison
Actors, Apples and Axes
Grits, Gamblers and Grudges
Candy, Carpenters and Candlesticks
Meatballs, Mistletoe and Murder
Honey, Hearts and Homicide
Visit lisabthomas.com for the most up-to-date book list.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all the readers who encourage me to keep writing. I feel your support every time I sit down to write.
A special thank you to my editor Kelsey Bryant. You’re a genius and a blessing.
Most of all, love and thanks to my husband for making it possible.
Stay Sharpe Box Set Page 46