Aunt Jemma’s argument helped me feel a tad bit better.
There was a sudden bang, and shots rang out. I couldn’t stop myself. I raced passed the police barricades toward the house. Someone grabbed me by the arm before I could bolt up the sidewalk and run inside. “Holly!” I shouted.
“Stand back!” It was Sheriff Hennessey who had ahold of me. His handsome face was stern. “Do not go inside. The SWAT team is handling it.”
“But Holly—”
“They’re professionals,” he said.
I turned toward the house to see two men in SWAT gear walking out. “Holly!” I shouted again. The next person out was Holly. She stepped out and looked a bit dazed. There was a bruise on her forehead. I jerked myself free of the sheriff’s grip, ran to her, and hugged her. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I never would have left if I’d thought for a moment she would attack you.”
“She needs to be checked by the paramedics,” the sheriff said and gently pushed me away from Holly. He took her arm and escorted her to the paramedics. Chelsea was beside me, snapping photos and taking video.
“Looks like the police got Holly out safe,” Chelsea said. “This is a great news story.” She was quickly typing in her words and sending the video to her editor. “Where’s Sally?”
“There was no one else in the house,” the SWAT leader told Sheriff Hennessey.
“She got away?” I asked.
“We’ll get her,” he said, his tone flat and professional.
“It looks like Sally killed Ivy,” Chelsea said.
“My guess is that she killed Laura too,” I said. “I don’t know why.”
“That’s something for the police to determine,” the sheriff said as he motioned for us to move on. “You two need to leave now for your own safety.”
“What about Holly?”
“They’re taking her to the clinic to check her over. You can pick her up there.”
“Come on, Chelsea,” I said. “Let’s go.”
“I want a few more pictures,” Chelsea said.
Sheriff Hennessey put his hand on her phone. “No more. Leave the scene, or I’ll confiscate your phone.”
“Fine,” Chelsea said and hitched her purse up on her shoulder. She put her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s go see Holly.”
We walked to her car, ignoring the questions of the crowd and the glares of the barricade cops. It was a short trip to the clinic, where the staff kept us waiting for two hours before they released Holly.
She came out looking pale and shaken but was none the worse for wear.
“Holly,” I said and stood. “I’m so sorry.”
“You cracked the case,” Chelsea said. “Maybe even two cases if Sally killed Laura.”
“She did,” Holly said. “That’s why took so long for them to release me—I had to debrief the sheriff and deputies about what happened.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go to the winery. You can tell us all about it over dinner. Aunt Jemma is so worried.”
“Yes,” Holly said. “Let’s go. I hope to never have to see the inside of this place again.” She shivered. I wrapped my arm around her to keep her warm and walked her to Chelsea’s car. Holly’s car was still being processed at the yoga studio parking lot, so Chelsea drove us back to the winery.
“Oh, Holly!” Aunt Jemma came running out and hugged her hard. Millie also raced out and jumped up on Holly. The cat prowled in the doorway. “Come in, come in. I have a fire going in the fireplace and fresh beef stew in the Crock-Pot.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Holly said.
It took a few moments to get everyone settled. Holly was bundled in a blanket and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. She had a glass of wine on the end table nearest her and a bowl of hot stew in her hands. I noticed that she didn’t touch it, and my heart squeezed.
“What happened?”
“Well, you left to get coffee.”
“Yes, I know,” I said with great sadness. “I didn’t know any harm would come to you.”
“Neither did I,” she said and patted my hand. “You couldn’t have prevented what happened next. You see, I saw her come out of the yoga studio and got out of the car to speak to her.”
“No! That’s not part of the stakeout.”
“I know, but I didn’t think anything of it.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her that we knew about her connection to Laura’s murder, and it’d only be a matter of time before we proved it.”
“Why would you say that? We didn’t know anything of the sort.”
“I know,” Holly said. “I was being dramatic. I thought I could get a rise out of her—a swift denial, and then we could concentrate on watching Juliet.”
“But she didn’t deny it,” Aunt Jemma said.
“No,” Holly said and took a sip of her drink. “She looked relieved. She told me that she hated selling out everyone she worked with to Ivy.”
“Then why had she?”
“She was in love with Ivy.”
“What?”
“Yes,” Holly said. “She pulled out a gun after she told me that.”
“What did you do?”
“I ran, of course, to the car.”
“That’s why the door was open.”
“I went to get my phone to call the police, but she grabbed me by the arm. I struggled, but she held the gun to my side and told me she would shoot.”
“So you went with her.”
“I had no other choice.” Holly’s voice cracked, and she teared up. “I was scared to death.”
“Did she walk with you to her house?”
“Yes. Once inside, she tied me to a chair and put a gag in my mouth. All the while, she told me what happened that day.”
“What happened? Can you tell us?”
“She went to meet Ivy, but Laura discovered them exchanging the chip for cash. Laura freaked out and went ballistic on Ivy. Laura said she’d suspected it was Ivy who was part of the theft ring. Laura was going to call the police. She got out her cell phone, but Ivy attacked her. She and Laura struggled. Sally tried to break it up, but Laura pushed her aside. Sally panicked and stabbed Laura with the corkscrew. Ivy pushed her body down the side of the cliff.”
“So the corkscrew was a weapon of opportunity.”
“Yes.”
“How did she get it?”
“She said that something bumped against her foot in the van while you were driving to the quarry. She reached down, found the corkscrew, and put it in her pocket, thinking you’d need it when you brought out the wine.”
“Instead, she used it on Laura.”
“Afterward, Ivy demanded to know where the SD card was. Sally said that Laura had taken it. They both looked down at the body, but there was no going down after it. So Ivy helped Sally wash up in the stream, and Sally went to join the others.”
“What about Rashida’s jacket?” I asked.
“Sally picked it up from a bench where Rashida had left it and used the jacket to help wipe away the blood. Ivy took it and buried it.”
“So why kill Ivy?”
“They got into a big fight,” Holly said. “Sally felt guilty. She wanted to tell the police what happened—that she had done it to protect Ivy. But Ivy argued that they should let you go to jail for it. Sally said she wanted to put all her cards on the table. She declared her love for Ivy, but Ivy rejected her, and Sally shot Ivy for the rejection. After all, she’d killed for Ivy. To have Ivy reject her was awful.”
“Sally told you all this?”
“Yes,” Holly said. “You should’ve seen her expression. She looked quite mad and yet happy to be free of the secret. She said she’d have to kill me as well since I knew. Her goal in kidnapping me was to flush you out, Taylor. She hoped to pin my death on you as well.”
“That’s crazy!”
“She is crazy,” Holly said.
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes, but right
now all they can prove is that she kidnapped me and held me at gunpoint.”
“They have other proof. She put the bullets in the 9mm that killed Ivy,” I said. “The sheriff said they found her thumbprint on the bullets.”
“How did he know it was Sally’s thumbprint?”
“We all had our thumbprints taken when we got our driver’s licenses. He ran the print through the DMV, and her name popped up.”
“So we can get her for kidnapping and for Ivy’s murder, but that still doesn’t free you from suspicion in Laura’s murder.”
“But Holly can testify that Sally admitted to killing Laura.”
“They’ll throw it out as hearsay,” Aunt Jemma said.
“But I didn’t do it!”
“We have to get Sally to admit to doing it where we can record it or have the police involved.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“Let’s get Juliet to help us out. She’s close to Sally. Maybe she can get her to confess.”
“Why would Juliet help us?” I asked.
“Because she also benefitted from Laura’s murder. Her alibi was Sally—if Sally killed Ivy and is suspected of killing Laura, that leaves Juliet without an alibi.”
“We need to talk to Juliet first thing in the morning.”
“Do you think that’s safe, considering all that’s happened today?” Aunt Jemma looked concerned.
“As long as no one goes alone,” I said, “we should be fine. It sounds like we know the killer. It’s a matter of proving it.”
“We don’t know for sure that Juliet knew anything,” Chelsea pointed out. “I say we meet at ten AM and go see Juliet. She has a class at nine and should be at the studio.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll skip this one,” Holly said with a shiver. “I’ve had enough adventure for a while.”
I hugged her. “We don’t mind. Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay. What could possibly go wrong?”
Chapter 31
It was sort of anticlimactic when we arrived at the yoga studio the next morning to discover that Juliet had called in sick.
“Well, shoot,” Chelsea said. “I was looking forward to really filling out the story. Do you think we should go to her home?”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea considering what happened to Holly yesterday.”
“But I’m a reporter, it’s what we do,” Chelsea reminded me. “So are you coming or not?”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll go.”
“Good.”
We decided to leave my van at the yoga studio and take Chelsea’s vehicle to Juliet’s house. She lived in a small home on the edge of town flanked by a vineyard. It was a bit run-down looking, but her car was in the driveway. So we got out and walked up. The curtains were all closed.
Chelsea knocked. There was no answer, so she knocked again and rang the doorbell. “Ms. Juliet Emmerson,” she said. “My name is Chelsea McGartland, and I’m here with Taylor O’Brian. We want to talk to you about what happened last night. We want to get your take on the Sally Miles story.”
There was no answer.
“Do you think she’s okay?” I asked. “The last time there was no answer, I found a dead body.”
“Maybe we should go around back,” Chelsea said. We turned to leave when the front door cracked open.
“I’m fine,” Juliet said. “Please go away. I don’t want to talk to anyone.”
“Are you alone?” I asked when a sudden chill went over me.
“I don’t want to talk to anyone,” she said, her eyes wide. “Please go away.”
“Okay, okay,” Chelsea said. “We’ll respect your privacy.”
We left, and she closed the door. I didn’t like it. It didn’t feel right to leave her. We got into Chelsea’s car, drove two blocks away, and parked.
“I think we should call the sheriff,” I said.
“I agree,” Chelsea said. “Something’s wrong.”
I called Sheriff Hennessey’s direct line.
“Hennessey.”
“Hello, Sheriff, it’s Taylor O’Brian.”
“What can I do for you, Taylor?”
“Chelsea and I went to visit Juliet, and something isn’t right.”
“What do you mean?”
“We knocked on the door, but all the curtains were closed. She told us she didn’t want to talk to anyone.”
“I can understand that. You and Chelsea aren’t exactly the best people to talk to these days.”
I frowned at his insinuation that the bad things that happened were somehow my fault. “I asked her if she was alone, and she didn’t answer. I think she’s in trouble.”
“I’ll send a car over there,” he said. “In the meantime, you two stay away.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it, Taylor.”
“Okay. I’ll be watching for the squad car.” I hung up and looked at Chelsea. “It could be another five minutes before they get here. What do you want to do?”
“I say we get out, walk back there, and go around back and see if we can see anything in the windows.”
“But her curtains were all closed.”
“In front, but she didn’t want us around back. It’s the only reason she popped her head out.”
“Then let’s go,” I said, more bravely than I felt. We got out of the car and took the alley behind the house. There was a carport behind the house but no fence. “If someone’s watching, they’ll see us,” I pointed out.
“Let’s hope their attention is on the front,” Chelsea answered.
“Wait,” I whispered, but it was too late. Chelsea hurried to the corner of the house. There was a tiny back patio and patio doors. The long vertical blinds were partially open. Chelsea was peering in, and I couldn’t take the suspense. I dashed across the lawn on the opposite side from Chelsea and looked inside.
Sally was inside with a gun. Juliet sat in a chair in the living room looking terrified, while Sally ranted and waved her arms around.
“We have to do something,” I whispered. “Can we distract her? Maybe get her to come out so that Juliet can get away?”
“The police are on their way,” Chelsea said.
“But that might make things worse,” I said. “How about you tip the trash can over, and I’ll stay beside the door when she looks out?”
“What good will that do?”
“It’ll distract her for a few minutes while the police are on their way.”
“Even better—look around the corner. See if there are any open windows,” Chelsea said.
“What are you suggesting?”
“That one of us distracts her while the other climbs in and saves Juliet.”
“But Sally has a gun.”
“All the more reason we need to hurry.”
“Fine.” I looked around my side of the little house and saw that there was a window open. “I think I can go through the bathroom window. It has to be a bathroom, right?” It was a little higher off the ground than the front windows.
“Fine,” Chelsea said. “You distract her, and I’ll go in.”
“No, it’s on my side of the house. I’ll go in. You distract her.”
“Be careful.”
“Right,” I said and slid around the edge of the house. The window was at eye level, and I peered in. It was the bathroom. I pushed the window up higher and held my breath as I listened. I could hear Sally yelling at Juliet that it was all her fault. That she should’ve never introduced her to Ivy.
I heard the trash can being knocked over and grabbed the windowsill. My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I slid into the bathroom. I landed awkwardly in the bathtub and held my breath as the house went silent.
“What is it?” I heard Juliet ask.
“Something’s gotten in your trash can,” Sally said, and I listened as she walked back to the living area. She paused by the bathroom door, and I held my breath. What was I thinking? Wha
t could I do against a woman with a gun?
“Please, Sally, put the gun down. I’m certain that Taylor and Chelsea knew there was something wrong. They may have called the cops.”
“The only way they could’ve known something was wrong is if you let on. I swear, you’ve messed things up so badly, I don’t know why I trusted you in the first place.”
I realized I didn’t have a weapon, but I did have my cell phone. I hit the record button—if nothing else, I could catch the encounter on video.
“I’m sorry. I should have never involved you with Ivy. I didn’t know that Ivy would double-cross you,” Juliet said. “You asked for a way out from under Laura’s strict management. I was only trying to give you that.”
“Now I’m wanted for kidnapping and murder,” Sally said. “They can’t find out about Laura too.”
“I won’t tell anyone what happened that day,” Juliet said.
“I can’t trust you to do that,” Sally said. “I need to get rid of you.”
“What about Taylor, Holly, and Chelsea? Are you going to murder them too? It’s gone too far. Give it up. Don’t let the police find you with my gun. Things will only get worse for you.”
“Stop trying to talk me out of things,” Sally said. “If Ivy hadn’t been there that day, she and Laura would never had fought, and I wouldn’t have had to stab Laura. You started this whole thing with your push to become part of Ivy’s ring.”
“It wasn’t me. It was Laura. She threatened us all,” Juliet said. “If you hadn’t killed Ivy, our plan would’ve worked. They indicted Taylor. No one would have thought otherwise.”
“You know as well as I do that three people can’t keep a secret,” Sally said. “I’m the one who wanted to tell the truth. I wanted to go to the police. Then Ivy told me she never loved me. She used me to get rid of her sister-in-law so that her brother would be free from Laura’s tyranny.”
“You mean Ivy set it up so that Laura found out about the SD card?”
“That’s what Ivy told me. I got so angry, I picked up her gun and shot her.”
“I don’t understand. How did Dan get the gun?”
“I don’t know. I left it at the house. I was in shock and dropped it. Dan must’ve picked it up.”
“So he’s covering for you by confessing to having killed Ivy?”
A Case of Syrah, Syrah Page 25