The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8

by Ann Mullen

  The sheriff held up his hand like a traffic cop and said, “Stop.”

  That one word said it all, but from the look on his face, the sheriff had already turned his thoughts to something else. Hopefully, he was rationalizing the situation, or maybe coming to grips with the pickle we were in—all of us, including him. We had played our part in this mess, but he had failed to look for the car, or even ask about it. He turned and paced back and forth, looking at the SUV… and hopefully, thinking about the implications of what had transpired here.

  The sheriff walked over to me and shook his finger in my face. “I didn’t buy your little crying tantrum for a second. I know you can turn those tears on and off like a water facet, so… no, it didn’t work on me… but it did calm me down watching you do your routine. I almost enjoyed it. Tell me, how long would you have cried to get your way? An hour? Two?” He shook his head and chuckled. Then he paced as he talked. “I don’t know what to do with you people. I know you’re not killers. Why do you always have to get in my way? You lie to me. You take advantage of my leniency. If it hadn’t been for me,” he pointed to Billy and me, “you two would’ve gone to jail for that stunt you played in the Flo Garner case.” He stopped pacing and stared at us. “I saved you both from doing time, and how do you repay me? You lie to me again, over and over, that’s what you do.” The sheriff looked directly at Billy. “You gave me your word. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? You swore you would take a hiatus, not work, not get in my way, but did you? No, you didn’t.” He waved his arms around, and then looked back at Billy. “What am I supposed to do about this? I sure hope you have something up your sleeve, because I’m at a loss. If you had just done what you were supposed to do, you wouldn’t be in the mess you’re in.”

  “Sheriff…”

  “Let me finish. I forgot about the car. I admit it.” He looked back at me. “I was more concerned with finding a killer, and… I didn’t want to be the one to tell your mother about Savannah. Your mom’s a good woman, and I knew it would upset her. Unlike you, she would’ve cried real tears. I hate being the bearer of bad news. I was hoping y’all didn’t know about the body in the dryer, but I should’ve known better. That threw me.”

  The wind was whipping up the snow and blowing it in our faces. The air was so cold.

  The sheriff had been good to us. There were times when he could’ve arrested us, but he didn’t. We had helped him more than once, so he gave us a little leeway. Unless something changed, this time was going to be different. We had pushed him to the breaking point. Something had to give, so I tried to fix things with him. “It seems to me that you did ask about Preston’s car, but then something happened, and you never got your answer.”

  Billy agreed. “That’s how I remember it, too.”

  The sheriff laughed. “That’s a downright lie. God, now you’re lying to protect me. Well, I don’t need your help.”

  Jonathan stepped in. “You must be confused, Sheriff Hudson. At the time, we all were.”

  I couldn’t contain myself any longer. “So we’re all a bunch of liars! Big deal! Who cares about that? We need to concentrate on the here and now. You have the evidence, Sheriff. That’s what matters. Now go and arrest Dakota Stone. Isn’t that what this is all about? Finding Gavin Preston’s killer?”

  A tow truck from Crumpler’s Towing Service showed up and hauled the SUV away, leaving us standing out in the snow, wondering what was going to happen next. Was the sheriff going to arrest us, and if so, on what charge? I had to know. I walked over to him.

  “Are you going to arrest us?”

  “Not today, but then again, the day isn’t over.”

  Jonathan’s cell phone rang, so he excused himself to take the call. When he returned, he had a strange look on his face.

  “What going on?”

  “The bomb at The Body Shop was more bark than bite. Oh, there was a loud explosion, lots of smoke and some fire, but the fire department got it under control quickly. Thank goodness, otherwise Savannah would be dead.”

  “What else?”

  “Dakota Stone had a wall safe, and it’s still intact.” He looked over at the sheriff. “I guess you forgot to mention that.”

  “It’s an ongoing investigation, and I don’t share.”

  Jonathan looked back to us. “She left her journal behind, and according to it, she’s been a very bad woman. It contains names, dates and the amount of money paid to her. That can only mean one thing. She kept a record of payoffs from women—that had nothing to do with getting a body makeover.”

  I gasped, and then looked at the sheriff. “You knew and you said nothing?”

  Billy moved closer. “Sheriff, if she left her journal behind, she wanted someone to find it. She’s taunting us. She’s laughing at our perceived stupidity. I mean, that’s how she sees us… as stupid. She’s rubbing our faces in it. She’s so sure she’s going to get away with her crimes. Why else would she leave it? She thinks she’s invincible.”

  “I guess she didn’t plan on having a wreck on the interstate.” The sheriff looked in my direction. “We have you to thank for that.”

  “Don’t think you’re going to blame me for that, too, along with everything else. I wasn’t even there. All I did was talk to the woman. It’s not my fault she got so mad she threw the phone out the window. That was all her doing.”

  “You never let anyone finish, do you? You always have to have the last word. Actually, what I was going to say, if you had given me time, was good for you, Jesse. Whatever you said to her did the trick. She lost her cool, and because of that, she’s lying in a hospital bed wearing her new jewelry—silver handcuffs.”

  “Glad I could be of service. I’m just so relieved that nobody died in the wreck.”

  “Olivia Swales did.”

  “I was talking about the other motorists. I’m sorry about Olivia, but that wasn’t my fault either. She’s another death you can lay at Dakota Stone’s feet. Olivia would still be alive if it wasn’t for that crazy woman.”

  “Actually, according to her doctor, she is crazy, but I guess you know that already… since you tried to pay her a visit this morning.”

  “We went to see Savannah, not her.”

  “Now see, there you go lying again. Can’t you, just for once, tell me the truth?”

  “You’re right. I did want to see her. I wanted her to come back at me with everything she had, so I could laugh in her face. I wanted to go get her so riled up that she’d slice her wrists with her new bracelets. Are you happy now?”

  “At least you’re being honest for a change.”

  “I’m curious about something, Sheriff.”

  He groaned. “What is it?”

  “What’s going to happen to those women who paid to have their husbands killed? They broke a few laws there. Conspiracy to commit murder. Solicitation to commit murder. You gonna throw them in the pokey… right next to Dakota Stone? Now wouldn’t that be priceless. I’d love to hear that conversation. You gonna let me listen in? What do you say?”

  “No comment.”

  The sheriff signaled to the rest of his remaining deputies to move out. As they began to leave, he started walking to his Greene County Sheriff SUV.

  “Hey, where you going? We’re not finished.”

  He stopped and turned back to me. “Oh, Miss Jesse, you have no idea how finished we are.” He opened the car door to get in.

  “Wait a minute, Sheriff Hudson,” Billy called to him. He walked up to the sheriff, pulled the plastic baggie out of his pocket, and then handed it to him. “Our cat was wearing this wedding band on his tail this morning, and I’m sure he didn’t put it there. You might find the inscription interesting. If you come by the house, we have some framed photos of Dakota and Olivia you might also want to see. There’s more. We found coke in the dog’s pill bowl.”

  “Pill bowl? Never mind.” He took the baggie. “What did you do with the coke?”

  “What do you think? I poured it down the sink.
We thought there might be more around, so Jonathan got a K9 out to do a search. So far, our house is clean. I don’t know about the rest, yet.”

  “Yes, we do.” Jonathan walked up with his cell phone in hand. “I just got a text from… well… it said all houses had been searched and all were clear, except Minnie’s. The dog found coke in a glass bowl in the refrigerator.” He looked up at the sheriff. “Nancy Woodward had a bag of coke in her purse. She must’ve been spreading it round, but had to quit when she got struck by lightning.” He looked at Billy. “Next stop was going to be Mom and Dad’s house.”

  “My mom is going to go nuts when she hears this,” I said.

  “She already knows. She was still there when Rex and K9 Suzy showed up. You know your mother, she wasn’t about to leave.”

  The sheriff stepped forward. “Where’s the coke?”

  “Shark has it. I told him not to dump it. When I heard Nancy Woodward had coke in her purse, I figured we’d find more since Billy found some at his house. I guess it blew his mind when he found it. His first response was to pour it down the sink and wash out the bowl, so we had nothing. Now your guys can test it to see if it’s the same. I’m sure it is.”

  “Get your guy to bring it in. I’ll let my guys know he’s coming. Since I’m already here, I’m going to follow Billy and Jesse back to their house to get the photos.” He looked at us. “Ready to go? I haven’t got all day.”

  Billy and I got in his truck and headed home with Sheriff Hudson following close behind.

  There was now four inches of snow on the ground, and just making a path through it up to the steps of our house was a chore. My fingers and toes were freezing and my legs were stiff by the time I got inside. I was just glad the thunder and lightning had quit earlier.

  “Ah… it’s so nice and warm in here!” I shook off the snow and then pulled off my coat. “Come on in, Sheriff. Take off your coat and thaw out by the fire.” I walked over to the fireplace and turned my back to it. “Feels so good.”

  Helene came out of the den and walked up to us. “I thought you might appreciate a good fire. The kids helped me. Ethan’s taking a nap, so try to keep it down to a roar. Maisy’s in her room on the computer.” She looked at the sheriff. “Nice to see you again, Sheriff Hudson. Would you like a cup of coffee? I got a fresh pot in the kitchen.”

  “Thanks, but I’m in a hurry.”

  “You’re always in a hurry. If you don’t slow down you’re going to have a heart attack. One cup won’t hurt you, and from the way you look, I’d say you could use a timeout.”

  The sheriff smiled. “Why not? Thanks to Jesse and Billy, I don’t get much free time to relax. I better take a minute and have a break before I keel over.”

  “They can be right trying at times, can’t they? Have a seat at the kitchen table and I’ll bring you a cup.” She looked at us. “You, too.”

  We sat at the table and waited for Helene to bring the coffee. “If you’re wondering where those picture are, they’re on top of the refrigerator. The kids kept asking about them.” She set the cups down, walked over to the refrigerator, and returned with the photos. “Vain, ain’t she?”

  “You put them in a zip-lock bag. Very good.”

  “I learn fast.” She looked at the sheriff. “You know we handled them, so you’ll find our prints on them.”

  “I figured as much. Couldn’t be helped.” The sheriff finished his coffee and stood up. “Thanks for the coffee, Helene.” He turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at Billy and me. “We’ll talk later about… you know what.”

  We sure did. There’d be more questions for us to answer before this party was over. Sheriff Hudson would be back, or either he’d call and tell us to come in to make a statement. That’s when he’d tell us our fate. It’s happened that way before.

  “Minnie called and said they had to drop off the coke at the Sheriff’s Office. They should be back soon.”

  “What’s she been doing? They should’ve been back hours ago. I told her to pack a few things, not the whole house.”

  Billy took his empty coffee mug over to the sink. “You know your mother. Everything’s essential to her. I bet she was hot when K9 Suzy found that stuff in her refrigerator. I can just imagine her reaction. Did you manage to get a word in on that conversation?”

  “Not hardly. She was irate, and you know we’re going to hear all about it when she gets back.”

  Maisy walked in and was surprised to see us at home. She greeted us with her beautiful smile and wanted hugs. “I missed y’all.” She looked up at me. “Your face is starting to look better, Mom. Does it still hurt?”

  “A little. I…”

  Before I could finish, she turned to Billy. “I need some help with my computer, Dad. It keeps locking up on me. I’ve rebooted it twice, but nothing I do seems to work.” She looked back at me. “I Googled K9 Suzy. Did you know she has her own website? She’s amazing.”

  “Ah…”

  “Will you look at my computer, Dad, before someone calls and you have to leave again?”

  “Sure, honey, lead the way.” Billy grinned back at us when Maisy grabbed his hand. “I’m your man. I can fix anything.” The two of them went to investigate the computer crisis. Helene and I listened to Maisy’s constant chatter as they made their way to her room.

  “She’s growing up so fast. I remember when the only problem she had was keeping the dogs from knocking over her teacup set. She’d sit at her little table with her dolls and serve them make-believe tea in plastic teacups. Oh, those where the days.”

  “Wait until she discovers boys.” Helene turned and walked back to the kitchen.

  A rumble of thunder rolled overhead.

  “Not again.” I walked over to the sink, stood beside Helene, and looked out the window. Sure enough, a streak of lightning flashed across the sky. “I thought that part was over. I’d never heard of thunder snow, until you said something.”

  “Hey, Maisy knows more about it than I do. It was news to me. The first I heard about it was this morning from the weatherman.”

  “Maybe I should Google it.”

  We shared a laugh, until Athena blew into the kitchen, feet sliding on the floor, and then coming to a halt after bumping into the cabinet. Her barking brought Thor, who still had on his whiney face.

  “All we need now is the cat.”

  “Ah… he got out again. I’m sorry. I opened the door to let the dogs out, and he scooted right by me before I could grab him.”

  “He’ll be back.” I went to the utility room and unlocked the flap to the doggie door. When I returned, Helene was fumbling around in the cabinet.

  Athena’s barking grew more intense as Helene grabbed the bottle of pills and started preparing one for her. “Hush, Athena. You’re going to wake Ethan. I’m working as fast as I can.” She looked at me. “She needs her medication.”

  “You gave her one this morning. Can she have another so soon?” I picked up the bottle and read the instructions on the label.

  “It’s been four hours.” Helene pointed to the label. “It says one pill every four hours as needed… and she needs it. I might just mash another one for later. I don’t think this storm is going to move out for a while.”

  My cell phone rang.

  “Got to be Mom. That’s her ring tone.” I hustled over to the rack by the door and pulled the phone from my coat pocket. “Hello, Mother. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the Sheriff’s Office. We brought in the cocaine, and now they won’t let us leave… and they locked up Shark.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Shark got a little unruly. He bumped into one of the deputies and the guy said he pushed him. Bumping and pushing isn’t the same thing. Shark’s not the kind of man who takes to having someone get up in his face. I think the deputy, who looks like he just graduated from high school, was doing it on purpose. You know how those young ones are. They slap on a badge and think they’re God… until they’re confronted with some
one like Shark. Guys like Shark are usually a real eye-opener for a new kid like Deputy Doolittle.”

  “Oh, come on, Mom, that’s not his real name, is it?”

  “Honest to God, Jesse. I feel bad for the kid having a name like that. You know the children must’ve teased him all the way through school.”

  “Maybe that’s why he became a cop… to help put a stop to bullying. Come on, Mom. I’m sure there’s just been some kind of mix-up. The sheriff said he was going to let his guys know you were coming.”

  “Well, he must’ve forgotten, because they were clueless. They weren’t real happy when Shark walked into the Sheriff Office with that cannon strapped to his hip, and when they asked him if he had more weapons, he pulled a knife from his boot, the taser from his belt, and a tootsie roll pop from his pocket. Deputy Doolittle said that wasn’t a weapon and he laughed. Shark looked down at the kid and said it was if you’re shoving it down someone’s throat. The deputy jumped back like he’d been stung by a bee.”

  I chuckled. “He had.”

  “They treated us like criminals when Shark tossed the bag of cocaine up on the counter, and I heard someone say something about possession. What was that all about? They didn’t catch us with the stuff. We brought it in. Anyway, you’ve never seen anyone move so fast. Two other deputies ran out and surrounded him. Now they have him sitting in a holding cell. Deputy Della said it was for his protection, but I think they were afraid Shark might hurt one of them.” Mom’s voice lowered to a whisper. “I don’t think they know what to do with us. We told them we were here to bring in evidence—the coke—but they acted like we were drug dealers or something.”

  “Where’s Eddie?”

  “He’s sitting on the bench next to me. They didn’t put us in jail, but they told us to wait here, and I can tell you one thing, these seats aren’t comfortable. Eddie’s back’s hurting him already. Jesse, you have to do something. Call Sheriff Hudson and tell him I said he better fix this mess. Here we were trying to be good citizens, and what do we get for our efforts… nothing but trouble.”

  “I’ll call him now, Mom, and then I’ll call you right back. Just sit tight for a minute.”