Both girls pouted. The older one stomped her feet while the younger one ran to retrieve her toy.
Luke followed the women into the kitchen. He stood behind Andi and in front of the sliding glass door. Glancing out back, he searched for signs of Tess. If they were friends, she could be hiding on the premises. What he did find was a backyard full of children’s toys: swings, sandbox, colorful hula hoops, and dolls. The only sign of adult existence was a gas grill that needed to be cleaned.
Stacey swept a purple plastic cup into a sink filled with dirty dishes and then took three clean mugs down from a cupboard. “Tess and I used to share a pot of coffee every weekday morning after her husband left for work.” Her voice dripped with disdain on the word. “My George always left earlier. He works in Mesa, on the other side of the valley.”
“You sound like you don’t like Doctor Owens much,” Andi noted.
“Not much is right. The man’s a control freak. He demanded a spotless house, his dinner waiting for him the moment he walked in, and sex whenever he felt the urge.” She lifted her brow in Luke’s direction as if he might be guilty of the same. She poured the coffee and set both steaming mugs, along with the sugar bowl, onto the table.
Luke glanced into the sink and spotted two coffee mugs, two juice cups, and four plates. No coffee mug for Tess today. Luke waited until Stacey and Andi sat before joining them at the table.
“If he was so horrible, why did Tess stay with him?” Andi asked.
“She said it was her duty to obey her husband.” Stacey rolled her eyes. “Tess grew up in an extremely religious family that believed the husband ruled the home. Glad my parents were more interested in sleeping in on Sundays. No one tells me what to do.”
Luke did his best not to show any response. He swallowed a sip of coffee and was pleasantly surprised by the rich, smooth flavor.
Andi noticed his reaction and lifted her mug. “Did Tess love her husband?”
“At first, but it didn’t last long.” High-pitched arguing and shrieks came from the other room. “Warning two! Pipe down out there!”
Silence filled the air.
Glad the young mother wouldn’t have to stop talking to deal with the girls, Luke glanced out the window toward the charred remains of the Owens’s home. The chain-link fence provided an unobstructed view of the destruction. “What happened to their house?”
“I have my suspicions, but I don’t know for sure. The morning before the fire, Tess came over with a bruise on her face. He had slapped her because she refused to make him breakfast. She thought she had morning sickness. If I were her, I would have thrown up all over his spotless suit.”
“Did her husband know she might be pregnant?”
“No. He didn’t give her a chance to explain. He slapped her up against a wall and then stomped out of the house. I would have chased him out the door swinging a chair, but Tess was too nice for her own good.” Stacey sighed. “Tess was sure he brought on a miscarriage. I tried to get her to go to the hospital, but she refused. I held her for the longest time while she cried hysterically. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped and got a wild look in her eyes. She swore she’d never carry a child of his again and she would get even with him no matter what it took. I figured she’d finally lost her mind. Frankly, I was surprised it took her that long. If he were my husband, he would have died violently—many times over.”
Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew Doctor Owens was uptight, but he never dreamed the man could hit his wife. He also knew Tess was quiet and easily led around by Bernice, but he never suspected she had deep mental issues. He rubbed his chin, trying to digest this new information. Studying Andi, he could see the story had disturbed her as well.
Andi cleared her throat as if needing the assurance she could speak after hearing the woman’s story. “Did Tess tell you what she meant by ‘getting even’?”
Stacey shook her head. “No, but that night I woke to sirens and the smell of smoke. There were firefighters everywhere, but no sign of Tess. At first I thought she’d died in the fire. I tried to run into the house to search for her, but two firemen held me back. They swore the house was empty.”
“Did Tess confess to setting the fire?” Luke asked, earning a surprised look from Andi.
Stacey shrugged. “I never saw or heard from her again.” She leaned close to Andi, as if wanting to make sure the kids couldn’t hear. “I always wondered if she set the fire to kill her husband.”
“Did you see Doctor Owens that night?” Andi asked, taking back control of the conversation.
“No.” She resumed a natural sitting position. “He was gone, too. I assumed he went searching for Tess. You know, when they first moved in next door, they looked happy. It just goes to show how any marriage can tank. I think he sucked the life out of her. She knew she could never meet his expectations.”
The topic of marriage had Luke thinking. He took in Andi’s appearance. She wore a black skirt with a teal blouse that looked professional, yet her tender smile revealed empathy. He admired her—even when she kept her sisters’ secrets. He admired her integrity. Their marriage wouldn’t have tanked if she had risked taking him into her confidence.
Andi placed both hands around her mug as if she needed the warmth of its contents. With the air-conditioning blasting, she could be cold. “Do you think Tess suffered from depression?”
“Anyone married to him would be depressed. Don’t you think?”
Andi lifted a noncommittal brow. Wise move, considering Doctor Owens had hired her.
All this time Luke was thinking the reverend had lost his mind and gone over the brink, but maybe the vet was right and it was Tess who had jumped the ship of mental stability. If so, her husband may have pushed her off the plank.
Luke studied Stacey’s face, prepared to read her reaction. “Has Tess contacted you lately?”
Stacey locked gazes with him as if wanting to make sure her answer would be believed. “No. I wish she would, but then, if she did run away from her husband, my house would be the first place he’d look for her.” Her eyes grew wide. “Ohmigod!”
“What?” Andi leaned closer.
“I found my back door open two days ago. I thought my husband forgot to lock it. Do you think it was Doctor Owens looking for Tess?”
Andi shrugged. It was a definite possibility.
Luke told the young mother that they would show themselves out. They walked in silence until they reached the street. “That wouldn’t have been us,” he told Andi.
She glanced over her shoulder, back toward the house. “What wouldn’t have been us?”
“Tess and her husband. Their marriage. I would never have expected you keep a spotless home and . . .”
“I know.” She cupped her palm on his cheek. “You’re one of the good guys.”
Her touch melted the tension from the night before. He didn’t know what to think any longer. He wanted to be with her, but he didn’t know if they could make it work. She did keep her sisters’ secrets, but then she had told him about Jessie despite the fact her sister’s life would be in danger if he told anyone. It was a major step in the right direction. A flame of hope ignited.
* * *
Back at Euphoria, Andi had just asked Luke to drop her off at the mailboxes when they spotted Meg and Roxie engrossed in conversation.
“What’s up?” Andi asked the founders of the anti-board.
“We were discussing Harry and Valerie,” Meg shared.
One of the women in Valerie’s water aerobics class approached with a mail key in her grip.
“We should take this conversation inside,” Roxie announced after blowing a series of smoke rings. “Let’s go to Andi’s. I assume you have refreshments.”
Refreshments? She imagined Roxie ate whatever the local bars served. “We have chips and sodas. And maybe some peanuts.”
“Sounds good to me.” Meg bounced ahead, greeting Valerie’s friend along the way. The other woman snubbed her wi
th a lift of her chin into the air. The rumor mill must have blamed the anti-board for the destruction of Valerie’s marriage.
Andi stepped around Roxie to avoid a similar encounter with the woman. She rummaged through her purse for her key as they strolled along the private street that circled the property. Reaching the path to her front door, she spotted an object hanging from the knob. “What in the . . .”
Meg grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t touch it. It could be a bomb.”
Cautiously, Andi stepped closer. A Suzie-Pees-and-Spits doll hung from a noose tied to the doorknob. Red liquid oozed from the rope tied around her neck, down her yellow pajamas, and onto the cement. A note printed on plain white paper stuck to her lace collar with the help of a straight pin.
Roxie marched past the women in her neon pink spandex jumpsuit and bent to read the note. “Stop investigating or else.”
“Or else what?” Meg asked.
Andi looked at her in disbelief. “Or else I’ll be the one peeing and spitting.”
“Oh.” Meg tightened her grip on Andi’s arm.
Andi stared at the Suzie doll dangling from the front doorknob with drool collecting in its plastic mouth. Her stomach lurched. “I guess I should call the police.”
She scanned the area for any sign of the psycho who had left the message. Not seeing anyone, she inserted her house key into the knob, doing her best not to touch the doll.
Meg turned to Roxie. “Get your Taser ready. The killer could be hiding inside.”
Andi pictured a dark-dressed man jumping at her in the foyer with a rope gripped tight in his hands. “Maybe we should stay put. We can call the police from out here on a cell phone.”
Roxie held her Taser high. “Don’t be a chicken. I’ve gotcha covered.”
Andi recognized the look in Roxie’s eyes. That woman was going inside if she had to shove Andi out of the way.
“Okay. You two stand back.” Andi turned the knob while waiting for Meg to find cover behind bushes. She kicked the door open and yelled, “Private detective! You’re under citizen’s arrest!” She jumped sideways, out of firing range, and waited.
Meg giggled a whisper. “That should scare him.”
Seconds ticked by and Roxie grew more impatient. “If you’re inside, you better show yourself!”
“Yeah!” Meg yelled. “I have a screwdriver and I’m not afraid to use it!”
Nothing. Not even the sound of a ticking clock.
Roxie barged in, Taser first.
Meg stuck close to Andi as she searched the main living quarters, the bedrooms, bathrooms, and then finally, the garage.
No one lurked inside. No one besides the three of them. Andi suddenly realized her childhood dream had come true. They were Charlie’s Angels. It didn’t matter that Roxie was one drink away from a nursing home for the bizarrely dressed and criminally insane. Nor did it matter that Meg was a stress-eating Chihuahua. Nor did it matter that Andi herself was a cookie-baking, part-time detective who was bad at lying. They were three women investigating a murder. Life was good—at least for the moment.
Roxie placed her Taser on the kitchen counter. To keep the good guys safe, Andi snatched the Taser and hid it in the china cabinet before calling 911.
* * *
After the police took their report and left, Andi opened the freezer door to make lunch for her friends. The threat left by the killer had taken at least five years off her life. Eating would help her think and settle her nerves. Now she understood Meg’s stress eating.
It was only a matter of time before Jessie heard about the threat. Her friends at the police station would make it their business to make sure she knew. Andi wasn’t looking forward to finally confessing that Doctor Owens had hired them either. That conversation would prove interesting.
Surprise! You have another case I didn’t tell you about.
She could already see the look of disapproval on her sister’s face. It would resemble the one her father had given her on many occasions.
Jessie would waste no time yanking her off both cases. When she moved to Euphoria, all she had wanted was to teach and bake cookies.
How did I get dragged into the middle of a murder mystery? Oh yeah, I threw the trash out and found a dead body, that’s how. And Lenny sold Jessie the agency sooner than expected and she didn’t have the time to work cases with her undercover assignment in full swing.
Andi felt sorry for Reverend Nichols. And Doctor Owens was willing to pay a huge reward for finding his wife and his money. One thing had led to the next. Now Jessie would ban her from agency work and her life would go back to normal. Regret spread throughout Andi’s chest and her shoulders drooped.
She realized she enjoyed playing part-time detective. Her blood pressure couldn’t handle it as a full-time gig, but she wouldn’t have minded doing a bit of undercover work during school breaks. Just enough to pay for a vacation every once in a while. Now she doubted her sister would even let her file paperwork.
With her thoughts back on lunch, she moved a container of leftovers aside in the freezer and a pack of hot dogs fell out. They landed on the tile with a clack. Staring down at the flesh-colored links, she was reminded of the sausages littering the vet’s garage. She couldn’t shake the feeling that both the freezer and the bleach were important clues.
Could Tess have killed Bernice in the garage, hidden the body in the freezer, and then dragged it over to the house after everyone had gone to sleep?
After speaking to the Owens’ former neighbor and seeing the house burned to the ground, Andi had a list of questions to ask the veterinarian. Correction, she used to have a list. She would never get to ask her questions because Jessie was sure to pull her from the case.
Andi shoved the hot dog package back in the freezer and grabbed a bag of frozen chicken nuggets.
“So,” Meg began, “you must be getting close to figuring things out. The killer wouldn’t be threatening you unless you’ve scared him.”
“Or her.” Roxie opened the refrigerator and scanned the contents. “You going to hang up your microscope?”
“Magnifying glass,” Meg corrected. “Sherlock Holmes had a magnifying glass.”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” Andi interjected, pushing the “Preheat” button on the oven. She still couldn’t tell them Jessie owned the agency. “I suppose Lenny will pull me off the case now that there’s been a threat made on my life.” She dumped the frozen nuggets on a cookie sheet. “I hate just sitting around when I could be helping.”
“Better than being dead.” Meg opened the drawers until she found the one where the napkins were stored and headed to the dining room table with a handful. “But . . .” she called over her shoulder, “if you insist on living dangerously, there has to be a way you can continue your investigation without the killer finding out. Or your boss.”
“You’re both wimps.” Roxie shook her head in disgust. “Find the killer and Lenny will have to give you a big raise. I’ll help. You only live once. Make it a life worth living and do it with a great hairdo.” She nudged her teased hair with her fingers.
Meg returned to the kitchen. “I’m in. No spitting and peeing doll is going to scare me off. Besides—we’re a great team.” She sent Andi a hesitant smile. “But it is your life. It’s your choice. We’ll respect your wishes.”
“No. If you don’t stay on the job, I’ll lose all respect for you.” Roxie leaned against the kitchen counter and glanced from one woman to the other. “Now let me tell you about the treasure I found.”
Andi placed the chicken in the oven and set the timer. “Do tell.”
Smirking, Roxie reached into her cleavage with her hot pink press-on nails and pulled out a small pastel-pink piece of note paper. “I wrote down this number last night.”
Andi stepped closer and read. “Ear pieces. 1-800―”
“They’re for eavesdropping,” Roxie explained.
“I saw that commercial,” Meg chimed in. “You can hear conversatio
ns from down the street.”
Andi grinned. The possibilities for such a device were endless.
* * *
“That’s it! You are off the case!” Jessie jumped up from the living room sofa.
“That’s what the killer wants,” Andi argued.
“And that’s what the killer is going to get.” Jessie marched over to the phone. “Owens must have told his wife that he hired you.”
“So you think Tess killed Bernice?”
“Yes, but the detectives in charge still think they can pin it on the reverend.” She picked up the receiver. “He had the strongest motive. He inherits over a million dollars between life insurance policies and her assets. Bernice owned five rental homes.”
“Who are you calling?”
“Dad.”
Andi unplugged the phone cord from the jack in the wall. “Don’t! Please.”
Jessie snatched her cell phone off the dining room table. “You’re my sister. I’m not going to put your life at risk. You’re staying with Mom and Dad until this is over. I can’t believe you promised Doctor Owens you’d find his wife.”
“I am not going home.” Andi knocked the phone out of her sister’s hand and caught it high in the air. She was not going to hide out in her old bedroom, hugging her Bon Jovi pillow for comfort. She had to think fast. “Compromise: I’ll quit working for Doctor Owens after I ask him a few more questions, then you can take over. Those questions will help prove Tess’s innocence or guilt. And I won’t be able to think about anything else until I have the answers.”
“I’ll ask the questions,” Jessie stated, ignoring the fact she didn’t have extra time to investigate another case.
“You can’t, you’re undercover. Besides, I’m not afraid,” Andi lied.
“You’ve been afraid to throw the trash in the dumpster since you found that woman’s body.”
“Oh yeah?” Andi pocketed the phone, strode to the kitchen trashcan, and yanked out the bag. Fear rose into her chest, but she refused to let it take control. This time, determination was going to beat her trepidation.
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