Chief Daly held up his cell. “Already tried. It’s gone to voicemail.”
Jessie’s face fell. “You don’t think…”
“No,” he said shaking his head and Officer Kendall mirrored the gesture. “She rarely answers her phone, you know that.”
“And like I said, she was going to the café,” Pete said.
Jessie burst away from them and hurried the few yards to the Bakehouse. She threw the door open and gasped with relief at the sight of Aunt Bee behind the counter. Seeing everything was okay, she turned and hurried out again before her aunt could interrogate her.
“Where do we go now?” Jessie asked when they were outside. “We don’t know if they’re at Lottie’s or Lainey’s. And Lainey’s not even staying at home. I can’t remember where she said she was based. We don’t have time to scour the whole town trying to find them.”
Chief Daly scratched his head. “Did you hear anything on that call that gave you an indication of where they were?”
“No,” Jessie said with certainty. There had been nothing different about that call except for Lainey’s strange behavior—at least nothing that Jessie had picked up on. But it did give her an idea. “I think I know how we can find them. Pete, I’m going to need your help.”
Chapter 33
Officer Pete Kendall looked up suddenly and held up his thumb.
It was dialing.
Jessie clenched her fists to try to keep her nerves at bay. This was the only real shot they had—only pure luck would get them to Lottie in time otherwise.
Jessie stared out the window. She was seated in the back of the cruiser with Pete. She wished this journey would end soon. Lottie and Lainey lived on opposite sides of the town. They had taken a risk and driven toward Lottie’s home, but Chief Daly was ready and willing to change direction at any moment. Luckily, the traffic was light for that time of day.
“Ah, yes. Hello,” Officer Kendall said in an overly officious voice. “Am I speaking with Lainey Fiennes?”
Jessie squeezed her eyes closed. This had to work. It had to. She wished she could hear the other side of the conversation, but they couldn’t risk any background noise getting down the line and giving their game away.
“Of course, how rude of me,” Pete said in a conciliatory yet rushed tone. “I’m Simon Stapleton of Marketeer Magazine. I’m calling you because I’m writing an article on the professionals who live off the beaten track and one of my colleagues recommended I speak to you.”
Jessie held her breath. Here was where the whole house of cards toppled. Would Lainey believe them? Would she ask a question that Pete couldn’t possibly answer and get suspicious? Jessie had prepared as much as possible, but there was only so much information that could be hastily gleaned from google.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s Tony Hayes, our editor, as it happens.” He sighed. “Look, if now’s not a good time I can move along to the next person on the list. I understand you’re a busy professional…”
This was almost more than Jessie could take. She risked a glance back at Pete. His face was completely inscrutable. She just hoped he was doing as good a job of hiding his true feelings from Lainey.
The silence felt eternal to Jessie. She turned and looked out the window. They were almost at Lottie’s place now. They had reasoned that Lottie was unlikely to be taken quietly, but nobody had seen her since Mel saw her take a call. They were all painfully aware that Lainey could have used some ruse to lure Lottie to the middle of nowhere.
The only positive was that Lainey was in cell reception: they couldn’t have gotten too far off the beaten track.
“Oh, of course. We’d be honored to get your help.”
A pause.
“Uh-huh.”
Jessie fought the urge to slap Pete’s arm and tell him to give her a clue about how it was going. She didn’t want to do anything that would put him off his game at this crucial moment.
“Yes, I see.”
The wait was getting unbearable. To distract herself, Jessie closed her eyes and tried to remember her call with the woman. She hadn’t been expecting anything strange so she hadn’t really been listening for it.
Think, Jessie, she told herself.
But the truth was there was nothing strange about the call. No odd rhythmic noise that might lead them to a train line—not that there was one in the area. And none of them knew Lainey well enough to be able to make any kind of reliable call as to where she might go. For all any of them knew, she had a cabin in the mountains that nobody knew about.
Jessie just hoped she didn’t.
Or that if she did, she was about to invite Officer Pete Kendall up there out of vanity.
“Oh well now, I think you’re selling yourself short. I mean, if you don’t think you’re qualified then that’s fine, but from what I’ve heard…”
Jessie bit her lip and wondered how much longer this would go on for. She sent a silent plea to Chief Daly in the front seat, but he wasn’t paying attention to her.
“Very well, Ms. Fiennes. You’re sure?” Pete said, slowly and deliberately. “I can’t persuade you? Because I’ll be in Springdale later this evening as it happens—I could come by and meet you?”
Jessie sucked in a breath. To her horror, it was audible.
This was it.
Would she fall for the bait?
“Okay, no problem. Thank you for your time. Goodbye, Ms. Fiennes.”
Pete tapped the screen and threw the phone down on the seat beside him. “No dice,” he said sadly.
Chief Daly watched him in the rearview mirror without saying anything.
Jessie reached over and patted his shoulder—the poor guy really did look dejected. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You tried. You said everything according to the script we’d worked out. It was a long shot.”
“I know,” Pete Kendall sighed. “But I really thought I had a chance, you know? One day I’d like to work as a hostage negotiator. You think that’s gonna happen if I can’t get a perp to tell me where she is?”
“Yeah, well it’s your first time. You couldn’t be expected to get a home run on your first attempt. With any luck, they’re here or at Lainey’s and we won’t need—”
A tinny voice interrupted Jessie. Its urgency made her stop talking immediately. “Guys, we were able to run a trace. The coordinates are forty—”
Chief Daly groaned. “Can we get that as a street address for us mere mortals? Derren, I’m not a machine, no matter how much I might look like one.”
There was a pause at the other end of the radio. Jessie gripped Pete’s shirt as they waited, daring not to believe that the plan had worked.
“Okay,” Derren said eventually. “Got it. Pewter Street, five two three five.”
“That’s Lottie’s place,” Jessie hissed. “Step on it, Chief.”
Jessie sat tensely for the remainder of the drive. They’d found their killer at last. The only question now was whether it was too late.
Chapter 34
“Clear,” Chief Daly murmured.
Jessie followed the two police officers inside Lottie’s home in a now-well-practiced movement. She knew better than to dart on ahead, even though every impulse told her to go and see if her friend was okay. Instead, she waited as they moved to the hallway.
“Clear,” Pete said.
They edged further into the house.
Jessie hovered in the living room as the two officers had repeatedly instructed her. She knew by now that they were trying to protect her not drive her crazy. She also knew that neither of them would ever hear the end of it from her aunt if she was hurt, so she stayed put. She busied herself counting the pristine tiles at the fireplace and telling herself to stay calm.
But that all changed when she heard a scream from the direction of the bedrooms.
Jessie was through that door like a shot. She looked either way and saw the chief’s back just inside Lottie’s bedroom. From the rigid way he was standing, Jessie assumed it w
as bad news. She broke into a run and skidded into the chief.
“No. Please tell me it’s not…”
She stopped and blinked.
The situation was too weird to take in all at once.
Chief Daly, usually so professional, was rigid. Not with grief, though, but from the effort of restraining himself from laughing.
At which he was failing miserably.
Officer Kendall, on the other hand, looked more confused that Jessie had ever seen him.
Lottie lay in the middle of her bedroom, holding Lainey in some kind of awkward wrestling hold that Jessie had never seen before. She didn’t need to be an expert in wrestling to see that Lottie had the situation under control.
Lainey, on the other hand, looked terrified. Jessie realized immediately that she’d been the one to cry out. Jessie shook her head at the strange scene.
Lainey must have mistaken Jessie’s confusion for sympathy. “Don’t just stand there. Get her off of me.”
Jessie looked at the woman in disbelief. Was she really playing the victim? Jessie shook her head, making eye contact with Lottie.
“If I were you,” she said coldly. “I’d dig those elbows in as hard as I possibly could.”
Lottie nodded. “Oh, don’t you worry, honey. This is no cake walk—I guarantee you. I watch a lot of UFC. I’m in no way an expert but I’m an enthusiastic amateur. You know, my heart’s in the right place but my skill level isn’t there.”
Jessie caught on to what her friend was doing. She nodded as if she was a follower of the sport too. “I know,” she said, nodding sagely. “But you need to be careful. Enthusiastic amateurs are the most dangerous. They don’t realize when they’re pushing somebody—”
“Enough,” Lainey screamed. “Chief Daly, you can’t just stand by and watch her torture me. Can’t you arrest me or something?”
***
“Well,” Chief Daly said, coming back into the house after he’d secured Lainey in the back of Pete’s cruiser. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a perp give in so easily. You two think you want to go into a career in law enforcement?”
Jessie and Lottie were sitting at Lottie’s kitchen table. Jessie had pushed her friend into a chair and wrapped her in a fuzzy blanket against all of her protests. Each had a steaming mug of tea sitting in front of her.
Jessie shuddered at the thought. “Goodness, no.”
Lottie, a pale version of herself, nodded. “Me neither. I think I’ll stick to my butchery. Much less gruesome.”
The chief shook his head as he pulled out a chair. “I was kidding, you know. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can’t bear to watch another cop show after what you’ve just been through.”
Jessie shrugged. She’d been busying herself with looking after her friend; so much so that she hadn’t had a chance to properly grill her about the day’s events.
Chief Daly beat her to it. “So, Lottie. We raced over here breaking every speed limit known to man. How on earth did you manage to overpower her?”
Lottie smiled slightly and Jessie was pleased to see some of the color return to her face. “You know, there was a point where I thought it had all gone wrong. I never suspected her; not even for a moment. She called me up just after Pete dropped us back into town. Said something about having evidence that might help me.” Lottie shook her head as if she couldn’t believe her own actions. “I didn’t suspect a thing. I thought she was my friend! She’s never given me any indication that she was angry with me. We chat all the time. Pete had told us everything was okay and I was convinced that Claudia was the killer. I soon realized we were wrong, of course.”
“What made you realize?” Jessie asked, rapt.
“She was fine until we got here. Then she just…” Lottie shuddered and it made Jessie want to shudder too. She had never seen her friend so rattled. “She changed in front of my eyes. She just launched into this attack on me. Said I was a monster. She couldn’t understand why everybody loves me when I’m so mean and cruel. They should like her because she’s nice to everybody. I’ve told her time and time again that she comes off as superior and cold, but she wouldn’t listen.” Lottie shrugged. “I guess she blamed me for her own personal failings.”
“Wow,” Jessie said, shaking her head. “And you never suspected she felt that way?”
Lottie shrugged. “No. And you know what? That’s her problem. I’ve only ever been a friend to her. It’s not my fault she’s sour. Honestly, I thought at our age we’d be beyond such petty behavior.”
“How exactly did you get control?” the chief asked. “She launched at you, you said? I have to say, this certainly wasn’t the scene I expected. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”
“Please tell me it’s not going to be her word against mine?” Lottie said warily. “I know only too well how badly I come across.”
“Goodness, no,” the chief laughed. “No, that awful woman had confessed before she even got in the back of Pete’s car.”
Lottie shrugged modestly. “I did a pressure point massage course years ago. It showed the areas of the body where the slightest pressure can cause immense discomfort. I think that, coupled with my TV-learned wrestling skills, proved too much for her.”
“But how?” Jessie asked, laughing. “She was armed and angry enough to kill people in order to frame you. You’re saying you just flipped her over like you were two high school boys playing around?”
“Not exactly,” Lottie said, with no small measure of pride. “Two high school kids might be expected to have similar levels of skill. Me and Lainey? I don’t mean to brag, but she was easy. Sure, she had a knife and—”
Jessie winced. “She threatened you with a knife?”
Lottie batted her hand. “You think knives frighten me? I work with them every day. I could see it was sharpened, but my goodness, she was hardly an expert hand with it. All I had to do was play weak and wait for my opportunity. And sure enough, it came when she got that odd phone call.”
“You knew it was us?”
Lottie shook her head. “No, of course not. But I saw it as an opportunity. She was cynical at first but then whoever she was speaking to seemed to have this strange effect on her. It was like she was swelling with pride. It didn’t take much to pounce when the time was right.”
“You waited until she was off the phone?” Jessie said, remembering how the call had seemed endless.
“Absolutely,” Lottie said, as if it was obvious. “I didn’t know who she was speaking to. For all I knew, it could have been an associate of hers. I did think boyfriend at the beginning.”
Jessie grinned. “We’ll have to tell Officer Kendall that he’s got a secret admirer.”
“It was him?” Lottie gasped, right at the same moment as the chief said: “I’m not sure Pete would be willing to wait around for twenty-five to life.”
“True,” Lottie nodded. “Plus she’s spiteful; not Pete’s type at all.”
Jessie shook her head. She still couldn’t quite believe that the supposedly mild-mannered woman was their killer. But the evidence was obvious. She’d been so terrified of Lottie that she’d confessed everything to the chief out of relief to have gotten away.
“I still don’t understand it,” Jessie said.
Lottie shrugged. “I never understood it. Somebody had a vendetta against me and they were going around murdering people and pretending I had a hand in it? Why, for a while I almost wondered if I’d actually been behind the murders myself. It just…” she shook her head. “It all seemed so strange, you know?”
“People surprise you sometimes,” Chief Daly said. “In bad ways as well as good.”
“Yeah,” Lottie said. “I think I’m going to take myself off to charm school. Anything to prevent something like that from happening again.”
Jessie smiled. “I kind of like you how you are.”
Lottie flushed, clearly not knowing how to handle the compliment.
Chapter 35
Jessie sighed with
relief as she pulled out a chair and sat at one of the tables in the back for a well-earned break. She’d been rushed off her feet all morning, not that she was complaining. She and Bee had worried that the murder might put their customers off coming into the café, but there hadn’t been a break in the flow of customers all morning. The second restroom remained locked and they planned to renovate it after the holidays.
She flicked open her magazine and stifled a big yawn. They would close the café on Christmas day and the day after, and Jessie was looking forward to a well-earned lie-in both mornings.
“Jessie.”
Jessie started. She’d been so wrapped up in the Christmas décor feature in front of her that she hadn’t heard anyone approach her. Not only that, but she recognized that deep voice. She looked up.
“Hey Mike,” she said softly.
He pulled out the chair opposite and sat down. Jessie scrutinized his face. Not only did he look tired from his overnight trip, he looked agitated too.
“Jessie,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “I understand things have been hectic here the past couple of days, but I think we need to talk. I’ve tried to call dozens of times.”
Jessie shrugged sheepishly. “I know. I’m sorry. I got to bed so late after they arrested Lainey and… and...” she sighed. Some conversations were difficult no matter how old you were. “Look, I’m sorry about that text. It was Aunt Bee. I know it’s crazy that she’d do such a thing, but she thought she was doing me a favor or something.” She shrugged again.
Mike stared at her, frowning. “I don’t get it. I’ve gone away for nights before and you’ve never had a problem with it. It’s a big part of my job. You know that.”
Jessie couldn’t help but laugh. “Like I told you before, I want you to do what’s best for your career. But you can’t say this is the same as you being away for a night or two.”
“I was only gone for a night,” he said, looking bewildered.
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