“That must be the uninvited guest,” Jane said, peering pointedly at me over the tops of her glasses. “I’ll be right back.”
When her back was turned, I stuck out my tongue. Jane Forsythe was a huge control freak sprinkled with a little crazy sugar.
I picked up the cup of tea in front of me and strolled leisurely around the room. I could hear Jax and Jane talking in the foyer, and was about to go sit back down, when my cell phone vibrated. It was a text from Mike.
“Dead body identified as Edwardo Brittolli! Where are you? What have you stumbled upon?”
My heart leaped inside my chest, and I almost blacked out from fear. Did this mean that Melvin Blevins shot and killed Edwardo? Who was the other person inside the auto shop? Was it Jane? It couldn’t have been Logan because he was at the police station still. Was it Jane who ditched the body at the rock quarry?
Taking a huge inhale then slow exhale, I started to turn back to the settee when a photo caught my eye. Leaning in, I took a closer look. It was a picture of Jane taken at least a dozen years ago, her arms around a handsome smiling man.
Gasping, I jerked up and barely registered the fact I’d spilled my tea all over the floor. I knew that face! He may be younger in the picture, but the features were the same. It was the distinguished older man who sat in the waiting room of Blevins Auto Body Shop the day Gramps and I had questioned Logan!
Was that Edwardo Brittolli in the picture?
I turned and immediately met Jax’s wide eyes. I dropped the teacup when I registered the gun pressed against her temple.
“How clumsy of you!” Jane chastised. “It’s like you have no manners at all.”
She shoved Jax farther into the room. “Both of you sit right here. I need to make a call.”
“To who?” I asked. “Edwardo Brittolli? Oh, wait no. You can’t call him, right? He’s dead.”
Jax gave me a questioning look.
“You’re a nosy little thing, aren’t you?” Jane said. “I should have known better than to turn my back on you.”
Jane pulled a cell phone out of her apron pocket, and keeping the gun leveled at us, made a call. “I need you to get over here now. You need to take care of a little problem.”
I could hear the voice on the other end, but I couldn’t make out who it was. I knew Melvin and Logan were at the police station, Edwardo was dead…so who was on the phone?
“I don’t care where you’re at,” Jane hissed. “Leave and get over here now!”
“How did you know about Edwardo?” Jane demanded.
“Jax and I were at the auto body shop last night,” I said. “We saw everything. Is Edwardo the one who killed David three years ago?”
Her eyes narrowed, then she threw back her head and laughed. “You don’t have any idea, do you?”
I shrugged. “Why don’t you explain it to me.”
Who’s coming? Who’s coming?
I knew it couldn’t be Logan Blevins because he and his family were currently in lock down at the station. The only other person left was Manny. And my heart sank at that thought. This would devastate Jayla and her daughter…and her unborn baby.
“Where to start?” Jane mused. “About fifteen years ago, I realized I’d never be able to retire comfortably on my income, and I’d need to do something about it. I brainstormed, and at first I came up with the idea of buying and selling rare books, but there just wasn’t a big profit to make. I knew Edwardo through some associates in the rare book world, and I knew he had his hand in a lot of—let’s say investments.”
I snorted. “He was a thief.”
Jane scowled, but the gun never wavered. “I started attending auctions, and when a rare signed first edition of Ayn Rand’s We the Living was sold for almost forty thousand dollars, I knew I had my first mark. It took almost a year, but with me doing the research and surveillance, Edwardo and I managed to steal the book.”
I snickered. “So you’re just a common thief too?”
Jane’s nostrils flared. “It’s not like we could resale the book right away, but after a substantial time, we did find a buyer. In fact, we were almost ready to pull off our second heist when Edwardo was arrested and sent away for four years. The stupid fool!” Jane closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. “That’s where he met that idiot Melvin Blevins.” She pursed her lips together. “Personally, I never understood why we needed to bring Melvin into the fold, but Edwardo insisted Melvin had connections and he understood the business. And maybe he did, but he has no appreciation for the books. They’re just books and profit to him, not treasures.”
“Treasures in which you gain a great profit from when you steal them,” I said.
“You’re an awful brave woman considering I have a gun pointed at you,” Jane said.
“You put that gun down and we’ll see who’s the b—”
The front door slammed closed, cutting me off mid rant.
“What’s going on in here?” a male voice demanded.
Chapter 22
Jordan Elliott strode into the parlor, his face red and contorted with anger.
“What’s the big idea, Auntie, of demanding—”
He broke off when he saw the gun pointed at Jax and me.
“Jordan Elliott,” I said slowly, trying to fit that puzzle piece in. “I never suspected.”
“Makes sense, though,” Jax said to me. “We wondered how the lye fit in.”
“True,” I said.
“What’s going on?” Jordan hissed. “Are you out of your mind, Auntie?”
“You better watch that tone with me, dear nephew,” Jane said. “Now, where was I?”
“You were about to tell us how David Saddler fits into this mess,” I said.
“Ah, yes, stupid naïve David Saddler.” Jane sighed. “It really was a shame about him. He was a decent worker. If only he’d kept his nose out of our business.”
“He somehow found out about your next book heist, didn’t he?” I asked. “The rare book you stole down in Marin County three years ago?”
“Look at you…a Nancy Drew,” Jane said snidely.
“What do you expect me to do here?” Jordan demanded. “I can’t just kill them.”
Jane scoffed. “Why not? You had no problem killing David and taking care of his body.”
Jax and I gasped.
Jordan growled low in this throat. “That was different.”
“It’s not,” Jane insisted. “You had to prove to Edwardo, Melvin, and me three years ago you would be an asset to our team by taking David out. Now you must take out these two or else our book stealing days are over.”
“Three years ago,” I said, “that would have made you about twenty-one. Just the right age to know about the carriage house.”
He scoffed. “You mean the party house? Yeah, I knew it was pretty much empty. In high school after football games, we’d sometimes go out there with the cheerleaders and celebrate. I also knew from working at the hardware store that the carpenters who worked on the remodel of that place had finished up about four months before. I figured that would be a great place to stash a body. It was common knowledge the actress chick who lived there was never really there.” He shrugged. “Just made sense.”
“What happened that night?” I asked.
Jordan walked over and stood in front of Jax. “I received a text from Melvin around six saying he had a job for me. It was a Saturday, and we always close the store at six on Saturdays. He said I was to gather up some lye and get out to the auto body shop as fast as I could. When I got there, David was dead.”
“Wait,” I said, “did Earl and Logan know Melvin was going to kill David?”
Jordan shrugged. “No idea.”
“Probably not,” I mused. “At least not Earl. He claims he was in his car heading down the driveway when David and Melvin were getting in their cars. I bet Melvin detained David there. Maybe said they should talk about the job David wanted in on.”
“When I got there,” Jo
rdan continued, “it was only Melvin, and he’d already stashed David in the chest.”
“Where did the chest come from?” I asked.
“I gave it to Melvin Friday night,” Jane said. “We each would bring something to the table to guarantee we never told.”
“So Melvin had me sprinkle the lye on David,” Jordan said, “and then he went out back and got a tarp. He asked me where we should take him, and I told him about the carriage house. At first, we were just going to leave him like upstairs in a closet, but when we got there, the door under the stairs was open, and it was totally empty.”
“Meanwhile, I made sure I was seen at my house on Saturday night by neighbors,” Jane said, “just in case the police ever asked me questions about David’s demeanor when I last saw him Friday. I waited until eleven or so then drove to put the typed letter on the parents’ car in the driveway.”
Jordan shrugged. “And I told Melvin I’d run back to the hardware store and get some supplies and just throw up some drywall. No one would ever know.”
“Until Jax and I decided to tear down that hideously built false wall,” I said. “I’m actually kicking myself right now for not realizing it was you and not Manny who did the wall. Manny said you didn’t know a hammer from a hoe. And that sloppily put up wall proves it.”
Jordan’s fists balled at his sides. “Yeah, well, looks like I’m getting the last laugh here.” He turned to Jane. “We have to make this look like an accident. What do you suggest?”
“Cut the brake lines to her car,” Jane said.
I snorted. “Been there, done that. Try again. No one will believe that happened to me twice.”
Jax sent me an exasperated look…but I just shrugged. I was too busy trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this mess. Granted, Gramps and everyone knew where we were, it’s not like they’d ever really get away with hurting us. I just needed to stall and figure out what to do.
“Let’s call Melvin or Edwardo,” Jordan suggested. “See what they think.”
I jerked in surprise. Did this mean neither one of them knew what all had transpired this morning? That Edwardo’s body had been discovered and the Blevins clan were already at the station under arrest?
I slid my gaze to Jax. She sent me a sly smile and a barely perceivable nod. I hoped like heck that meant she had a plan. I slid my hand surreptitiously in my jean pocket and grabbed my pepper spray just in case.
“I’ll call Melvin,” Jane said. “Here. Hold my gun.” She went to pass Jordan the gun…and Jax made her move.
As Jordan leaned forward, Jax kicked her foot out and smashed his knee, causing him to go down. At the same time, she stood and zapped his neck with the stun gun.
“What on—”
Jane never got a chance to finish that sentence. As Jax stood, so did I. Only instead of a stun gun to the neck, I nailed Jane in the face with a long spray of pepper. The minute she hit the floor, I backed away and took a deep breath. I hated using pepper spray because it always left me feeling like I’d been dealt a deadly blow.
Kicking the gun out into the foyer, Jax did a little victory dance. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I wheezed. “I hate using this stuff.”
“I’ll kill you for this!” Jane screamed as she writhed on the floor.
“Lady, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that threat,” I said, “I could retire.”
“Good one,” Jax said.
“By the way, Jordan,” I said, “I know you’re probably too disoriented to understand everything I’m saying, but I feel I should warn you that last night, Melvin Blevins and your dear Auntie here murdered Edwardo Brittolli.”
Jordan tried to form words, but nothing came out. Well, except drool. Jax’s new stun gun must be quite the weapon.
“I’m calling Gramps,” Jax said. “Do you want to call Mike?”
I groaned. “Not really. But I know I have to. He’s been trying to reach me this whole time. My phone’s been vibrating constantly the last few minutes.”
“Look on the bright side,” she said, “it’s only one-thirty. He should have most of this wrapped up in time for supper tonight at seven.”
***
As it turned out, Mike wasn’t at all thrilled with what went down. By the time Gramps shooed everyone out of Gone with the Whiskey and he, Duke, Mom, and Tillie raced to Jane’s house, the chief of police, Mike, and two other police officers stood in Jane’s parlor room, shaking their heads, trying to put the pieces together.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me of your suspicions,” Mike growled.
I held up my pointer finger and shook my head. “No. No. I swear I was only here because Jane invited me. I had no proof about what I suspected. Jax and I agreed we’d come here, see the books she wanted to show us, and then if we did happen to find evidence of what I suspected, you would be immediately called. I promised Gramps there would be no heroics on our part. It’s not my fault Jane and Jordan screwed that up.”
Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “So let’s go over it one more time. Tell me exactly what Jane and Jordan told you about the death of David Saddler.”
So I repeated the story two more times, standing in Jane’s Pukey Pink Palace, and wishing I were anywhere but there. By the time Mike let us go, it was almost three, and I was exhausted.
“Think you’ll make it for dinner at seven?” I asked.
“I’d say it’s likely,” he said. “There’s enough damning evidence here, that I look for all of them to roll on each other and try and cut a deal.”
I bit my lip. “I really didn’t know if my suspicions were correct or not.”
Mike laughed. “I actually believe you.” He leaned down and kissed me. “You have the most amazingly rotten luck of anyone I know.”
“But you still love me right?” I grinned, pointing to my ring finger. “You still want to put a ring on it, right?”
“God help me, but I do.”
Chapter 23
“That is quite a story,” Andrew said, setting the platter of tri-tip down on Mom’s outdoor table.
Mike took a pull from his beer. “This was a huge case to close. It seems Blevins Auto Body Shop has been stealing parts for years, but no one put it together until now.”
All eyes turned to me. “What? I didn’t know what it was.”
Mike snorted. “And yet, somehow, you managed to lead us to where we needed to go.”
Grinning, I threw my hands up and shrugged. “Just lucky.”
“Lucky no one got seriously hurt,” Trevor said solemnly, giving Jax a pointed look.
For once, I was glad I wasn’t the only one getting the hard eyes from a boyfriend. Of course, I also understood where Trevor was coming from.
“I thought the news a few weeks ago of you being stabbed was hard,” Trevor said. “Getting the news of you being in harm’s way again nearly undid me.”
Andrew nodded as he took a large bowl of mashed potatoes from Mom. “It sure did. Here we are blindly working on a bathroom, totally unaware of what was really going on.”
I grimaced. “I know. And I’ve said I’m sorry a thousand times. But in our defense, we never went there to try and capture anyone. It just happened.”
“Welcome to my world,” Mike murmured.
“I’m curious,” Mom said, “did Logan admit to knowing about David’s murder?”
We all sat down at the table, and Gramps started carving the meat as Mom and Tillie refilled wine glasses for us ladies.
“He claims he was never told,” Mike said, “but I get the feeling it was more of a ‘he was never to mention it’ sort of thing. I think deep down he knew someone in his family did something, but he kept his mouth shut.”
“Speaking of keeping the mouth shut,” I said, looking at Jax, “I think we’re ready for our announcement.”
“I agree,” she said, slipping her hand into Trevor’s.
Mike, Trevor, Jax, and I stood, and Mom and Tillie started clapp
ing and squealing.
“Tell me this is about a wedding!” Mom demanded.
“It’s about a wedding,” I agreed.
Mike wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulled me close, then cleared his throat. “The four of us have talked extensively about what we’d like to see for our future, and with the new house and moving in together, we realize our lives are already so massively entwined, it would be silly to try and separate them on something as special as a wedding.”
“So with that in mind,” Trevor said, “we’re going to ask you to join us in a double ceremony.”
Mom and Tillie screamed again.
“You mean like the four of you at once?” Gramps asked.
“Yes,” I said. “And we want you to walk Jax and me down the aisle…together.”
“You in the middle,” Jax said, “walking us both down.”
Gramps’ eyes filled with tears, and his cheeks quivered. Clearing his throat he nodded. “Well, I suppose I could do that.”
“Where and when?” Mom demanded.
“We aren’t exactly sure,” I admitted. “We just know we want it to be together.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Andrew said. “Something the four of you will always remember.”
Gramps sighed. “I guess I better give a toast.” We all picked up whatever drink we had in front of us and lifted them in the air. “I can’t believe the time has finally come. I’ve watched you two girls grow from diapered babies to awkward teenagers to smart businesswomen. Even during the most exasperating of times, I still couldn’t be prouder of the two women standing before me today or of the two men who love them. May the four of you find love, happiness, and comfort individually and in each other as you carve a life out for yourselves, but still hold tight to the family that binds you.”
“Hear! Hear!”
We clinked glasses, wiped tears, hugged, and laughed. And ate until we were stuffed. Then we laughed and drank some more.
“Looking back,” I said, finishing off the last of my wine, “I really missed a lot of clues. The biggest coming from Jane when she said that David made a bad decision he had to pay for. I just assumed she meant stealing the ring and doing community service, but I can see now she meant trying to squeeze her to be on the next book heist.”
Whispering Walls & Murder Page 13